


A Chance To Start Over

by Married2MyPhone



Category: Heathers (1988), Heathers: The Musical - Murphy & O'Keefe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anxiety, Character Development, Character Study, Drug Use, F/F, Hallucinations, Internalized Homophobia, Polyamorous Heathers (Heathers), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, Suicide Attempt, Time Travel, Toxic Character, Toxic Relationship, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:28:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 83,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24999094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Married2MyPhone/pseuds/Married2MyPhone
Summary: Things weren't good for Veronica Sawyer. Three people died by her hands and she watched the first boy she ever loved explode right in front of her. It was horrible and even if she gained a real friend out of Heather McNamara and rekindled her relationship with Martha Dunnstock, the experiences she went through haunted her badly. All Veronica wanted was a chance to start over, and one day, she woke up and was given the very chance she wished for, because just like that, it was September 1st all over again.
Relationships: Heather Chandler/Heather Duke, Heather Chandler/Heather Duke/Heather McNamara/Veronica Sawyer, Heather Chandler/Heather McNamara, Heather Chandler/Veronica Sawyer, Heather Duke/Heather McNamara, Heather Duke/Veronica Sawyer, Heather McNamara/Veronica Sawyer, Jason "J. D." Dean & Veronica Sawyer, Martha Dunnstock & Veronica Sawyer
Comments: 182
Kudos: 746





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I've seen a lot of Heathers fics where Veronica gets sent back in time to fix her mistakes and I wanted to give my own twist to it. I'll be mixing certain aspects of the movie and the musical in this story and I've also hidden refrences to other musicals throughout the chapters, so look out for those. The name of the fic itself is a reference to Waitress actually and I just wanted to mention that cause I thought it was fun.

Veronica woke up that day feeling horrible. Another night with barely any sleep and the girl wondered why she hasn't gotten used to that by now, but all she could focus on in that moment was the blaring sound of her alarm clock and the aching of her head from the sound. Turning it off, Veronica got up from her bed and went to her bathroom to get the day started. Once she was done showering, Veronica went to her closet to grab her usual clothes, only to notice that she couldn't find her blue blazer anywhere. Did her mom bring it to the dry cleaners or something? With furrowed eyebrows, Veronica put on the only clothes that looked decent enough to wear and went downstairs to have breakfast with her family like usual.

The girl sat down at the table, silently eating her food while her dad talked about something in the paper which Veronica decided to ignore, trying to figure out how she'll go through the day without letting the hallucinations of her dead friends and boyfriend bother her when her mother spoke up. "So, honey, are you excited for your first day?" The woman asked in a cheery tone as she put more eggs on her husband's plate. "First day of what?" Veronica asked, not really thinking much of the question. "Why, your first day of school! Don't tell me you forgot." Veronica's mom said as she took her seat across from her. Veronica furrowed her eyebrows at the question and looked up to her mom who gave her an excited smile.

"First day of- What? Mom, it's not the first day of school, that was months ago." Veronica said, shaking her head slightly before going back to her food. "Oh, Veronica, that's because your first day of junior year was months ago as well." Veronica's mom said in a sweet tone, but her words only confused her daughter more. "Junior year? Mom, you do know that my senior year's about to end, right? It's not the first day." Veronica said in an exasperated tone. "Are you okay, Veronica? Did you hit your head before sleeping?" Her mom asked in concern, reaching over to the table and placing the back of her hand on the girl's forehead. "It's okay, sweetie. Sometimes I forget what day it is too." Veronica's dad spoke up before turning to his daughter.

"It's your first day of your last year of high school, Ronnie. Here, look for yourself." Veronica's dad said, handing his daughter the newspaper. Veronica took it skeptically before going to the front page, feeling her word stop as she read the date. 'September 01, 1989' This was a joke, right? Was she hallucinating again? Or was this just some sort of sick joke her brain made up for a dream? "Excuse me for a second." Veronica said, abruptly getting up from her seat and heading back to her room without giving her parents a chance to ask why. She shut the door and her hands went to grip her hair. Her breathing was heavy and shallow as she paced around the room, trying to figure out if any of this was real because it couldn't be.

It definitely wasn't a dream seeing as she could feel the stinging pain from how hard she was tugging her hair. It was all so bizarre that Veronica's mind couldn't process anything in that moment. Rushing over to her drawer and opening it in a hasty manner, Veronica took out her leather journal, opening it to the last page and looking at the date she would always put above each entry. 'August 31, 1989' The girl frantically flipped through the journal, desperately trying to find her old entries, only to find blank pages. In that moment, the reality of the situation had finally hit Veronica. This was real. She was back in time to her first year of senior year.

That means everything is back to the way it's used to be. Heather, Kurt and Ram were alive, Heather McNamara and Martha didn't try to kill themselves, Heather Duke wasn't the new mythic bitch and JD didn't even go to Westerberg yet. Veronica clamped her hand above her mouth as tears stung her eyes. This was it. This was her chance to fix everything. God, this was all so surreal. Maybe there was a god after all. Veronica looked up, silently thanking whatever higher being there was for giving her this opportunity. This time, Veronica was going to do things right. No one was going to die this time, she'd make sure of that.


	2. Beautiful Freakin' Day

Part of Veronica felt like vomiting as she walked down the familiar halls of Westerberg High. Things were different ever since the bomb that went off in the field with JD along with it. It was like everything was more somber and everyone had come to a silent truce on how everyone would act from that day on since too many deaths happened in that one year. But now that none of that happened, the halls were as full of energy as before. People that were higher on the social ladder walking down the middle without a care in the world while the ones who were at the bottom walked along the sides with their heads hung low. It was odd to be in front of this familiar sight after so long of not being in it.

While lost in her thoughts, Veronica ended up catching sight of a poor boy being shoved to the ground by one of the preps who laughed at him once he hit the ground before walking away. "Hey, are you okay?" Veronica asked, going over to the boy and attempting to help him up, only to have her efforts denied. "Get away, nerd." He said in an annoyed tone before walking away. Veronica blinked, remembering this same moment going the exact same way the first time in her head. This really was real, Veronica really went back in time. Her classes were the same, at least, so she sat through them without any intent of listening as she thought about how she was going to go through with everything the second time around.

Everything bad started the moment Veronica and JD went to Heather's house after she threw up on the queen bee's shoes at that stupid party. If she avoided that event completely, how would things play out? She wouldn't have a reason to go to JD and they wouldn't have a reason to go to Heather Chandler's home. As she walked to the cafeteria, Veronica's mind was so preoccupied with all the ways she would make things different that she didn't even notice the jock walking up to her. It was only when her lunch tray was slapped out of her hands did she snap out of her thoughts, turning to look up at who interrupted her thinking, only for her face to go pale at the sigh.

"Oops..." Ram said, saying the word in a fake apologetic tone while Veronica stared at him in horror. The memory of JD shooting Ram right in front of her flashed in her mind and all she could see was the boy stripped down to his underwear with a bullet in his throat. Ram furrowed his eyes from the girl's reaction, getting frustrated with the way he was looking at her. "What are you looking at, skank?" He asked in an annoyed tone which made Veronica snap out of her thoughts once again, swallowing nervously before looking down. "Nothing." She mumbled and the boy gave her one last look before walking away.

This would be the only moment Veronica was relieved to see the boy in a way that wasn't through a trauma induced hallucination. She's had enough of those already, but she couldn't help but feel sick to her stomach from seeing the boy she had a hand in killing. But now, he was alive. There was life in the dead eyes Veronica grew so used to seeing in her nightmares. He was okay, he was alive, which means that Kurt and Heather were alive as well. But that also meant that JD was alive and she already knew that he was more than capable of killing someone in cold blood if he was provoked. The feeling of someone tapping on her shoulder out of nowhere made Veronica yelp in shock, turning around and relaxing once she realized who it was.

"Hey, Martha." Veronica said. "Hey." The girl replied with a smile before picking up Veronica's fallen lunch tray and handing it to her friend. "We on for movie night?" Martha asked and Veronica smiled at the girl, happy to see the pure innocence in her eyes once again. "Yeah. You're on Jiffy Pop detail." Veronica said, the familiar words coming easy to her. "I rented the Princess Bride." The shorter girl said in an excited tone, a sparkle in her eyes which made Veronica chuckle. "Again? Wait, don't you have it memorized by now?" Veronica asked and Martha sent her a sheepish smile. "What can I say? I'm a sucker for a happy ending." She said with a shrug and Veronica felt her heart warm at the words. 

This time, Martha wasn't jumping off a bridge and breaking any bones. This time, Martha would have a happy ending, just like everyone else. "Martha Dumptruck, wide load!" The voice of Kurt Kelly caught Veronica's attention, making her grab the back of Martha's sweater, pulling her back so Kurt wouldn't be able to slap her tray down. "Hey!" The boy whined, glaring at Veronica who mustered up the courage to step in front of Martha, facing Kurt head on. She tried her best not to hurl as images of Kurt with a bullet through his chest flashed in her mind, doing everything she could to not burst into tears and apologize right then and there. "You've got a problem?" Kurt asked, stepping closer to Veronica who stood her ground while Ram came up behind his friend.

"My buddy, Kurt, just asked you a question." He said as Kurt turned to him, the two sharing a look and a nod before turning back to the girl who stared them down. "It's Dunnstcok. Just leave us alone. We're not doing anything, find someone else to bother." Veronica said, feeling proud of herself from not wavering as she tried her best to defend her best friend while not being too rude since she did let Kurt and Ram be murdered in the middle of the woods. The two glared at her for a second longer before Kurt lifted his hand, pointing a finger at Veronica's forehead. "You have a zit right there." He said.

The two boys, along with everyone in the cafeteria, burst into laughter from Kurt's comment and Veronica sighed. Even if she said something different from the first time, it all played out the same. Maybe she'd have to make bigger changes to avoid bigger things. A few words were minor details, but if she couldn't even change that, how was she supposed to prevent the deaths of four people? "Thanks." Martha spoke up and Veronica turned to her with a small smile. "It was nothing." Veronica replied as they got their food, walking to their tables and sitting down. "Are you okay? You seem pretty out of it today." Martha asked and Veronica nodded, not wanting to tell the truth because, a, she didn't know how the laws of space-time worked and b, she'd look like an absolute lunatic if she spoke about being from the future.

"I'm just a little distracted. I mean, it's the first day and we already have to deal with this crap." Veronica said with a laugh, lying easily and Martha nodded in agreement, not finding anything wrong with her friend's reply. "We'll get through it like we always do. Only one more year and we can finally start over in college." Martha said in an optimistic tone. Ever the ray of sunshine, Veronica thought. It was nice to see her so happy again rather than the somber Martha she's gotten so used to after everything that's happened. Just as Veronica opened her mouth to speak, the doors to the cafeteria slammed open, making heads turn in the direction while Veronica flinched as solid Teflon entered the room. It was as if time slowed down for Veronica as she watched the three girls she used to dread walk into the cafeteria, chins up as confidence radiated around them.

Now Veronica really felt like throwing up. She felt as if the Heathers went through the most in that dark time. Duke wasn't a power hungry tyrant anymore, Mac's eyes were bright as day in comparison to the tired eyes she wore everyday, and most importantly, there was Heather Chandler in all her glory, lips red with lipstick instead of stained with the blue liquid that led to her demise. The sound of glass shattering and a body dropping to the floor entered Veronica's ears and she shut her eyes tight, trying to force herself to not go back to that dark place before getting up. "Veronica?" Martha asked in concern, staring up at the girl whose breathing had become shallow, hands shaking from the panic attack she felt coming.

"I-I'm gonna go to the bathroom for a second." Veronica said, grabbing her stuff so she could leave. "Okay, but are you gonna be alright?" Martha asked and Veronica nodded. "Yup. I just need some time for myself. I'll see you later." Veronica said and before the shorter girl could even make another comment, Veronica left, making sure to steer clear of the Heathers' paths, not wanting to face them, or face anyone, in that moment. Thankfully, the bathroom was empty, but she didn't want to risk anyone walking in on her when she was at one of her lowest, so she entered a stall, closing it and sitting down on the toilet as she buried her face in her hands.

Why did she think this was going to be simple? The only thing on her mind was using this second chance to make things better, but she never thought about how any of this was going to affect her. Seeing all of their faces made her blood run cold and she didn't even want to imagine what it would be like to see JD again. This was going to be harder than she thought and part of Veronica hated herself because none of this would've happened if it weren't for her. If she had just checked the mugs, Heather Chandler wouldn't have choked on drain cleaner. If she had just done some research, Kurt and Ram never would have died. If she had just thought, Heather Mac and Martha wouldn't have been driven to the point of suicide and Heather Duke wouldn't become the monster she was pushed to be.

No, Heather wasn't the monster, she was. Not just her either, JD had just as much to blame for everything, but she just couldn't help the feeling of everything being her fault, like a weight that she could never get rid off. God, how was she supposed to do any of this when she couldn't even look at any of them in the eyes without wanting to collapse? She could barely keep it together now, all of this felt impossible. What if she couldn't change anything? What if everything led to the inevitable death of four high school students and the emotional damage of two pure souls because of loss? Veronica almost yelped and cried at the sound of the door to the bathroom opening, but she held it in with a deep breath, hand over her mouth to stop the sobs threatening to break through her. She reached into her bag and took out her journal and a pen, beginning to write her thoughts down frantically in an attempt to calm herself down.

Quick footsteps along with the loud clacking of heels filled the room followed by gagging and vomiting made Veronica freeze in her seat, realizing what was happening. "Grow up, Heather. Bulimia is so eighty-seven." The familiar voice of Heather Chandler met Veronica's ears and the girl shut her eyes, trying her best to get rid of the sound of the girl saying her last words in her mind. "Maybe you should see a doctor, Heather." Heather Mac said with concern in her tone and Veronica gripped her hand to stop it from shaking, noticing that this was the same bathroom she found Heather in when she tried to commit suicide, only for Veronica to stop her the last minute. "Yeah, Heather. Maybe I should." Heather Duke said weakly and Veronica relaxed, glad to hear the girl sound human rather than a heartless dictator. 

"Ah, Heather and Heather." Ms. Flemming said as she entered the bathroom. Heather Duke felt her food come back up, the sound of her throwing up filling the room making Ms. Flemming give the two an unamused look. "And Heather." She said and Veronica's mind started reeling. This was the exact moment she started conjuring up a forged hall pass for all four of them, but should she continue? There were so many outcomes that could stem from any action Veronica decides to make, but she had to choose quickly. What was she going to do? Every option seemed like it would lead to something bad and Veronica really had to think things through unlike all the impulsive decisions she's made the first time. She could just not do anything. Let the girls get in trouble and leave them be. "Perhaps you didn't hear the bell over all the vomiting?"

"Heather wasn't feeling well. We're helping her." She was almost running out of time. Veronica needed to decide now and whatever she did would determine what would happen next. Either she'd do something good by resetting the timeline that led to a better ending, or they'd still go the same way no matter what she decided. "Not without a hall pass you're not. Week's detention." Time's up. With a deep breath, Veronica closed her eyes and stayed still, not moving from her spot as she listened carefully to see what would happen next. "You can't punish us for being there for our very sick friend. You're a guidance counselor, aren't you? Isn't it against your morals to condemn someone for doing good?" Heather Chandler asked in an innocent tone.

It was different. Veronica could feel the tide shifting and she didn't know if she should let out a sigh of relief or continue to listen in with bated breath. "Well... I guess not..." Ms. Flemming said, obviously backed into a corner with Heather Chandler's logic. "Fine. But just this once. Next time, go see a nurse. Now, get moving." Ms. Flemming said before walking out of the bathroom. "Get up, Heather. Let's motor." Heather Chandler said in annoyance and Heather Duke flushed the toilet, getting up and following her two friends out of the bathroom. Veronica sat there for a second, letting everything settle in before slowly getting up and opening the stall door and looking around at the now empty bathroom. Veronica didn't help the Heathers get out of their situation with Flemming, though they seemed to do fine without her. 

But what did this mean? Veronica didn't get invited to join the Heathers, she's not going to get her makeover and she won't be invited to Kurt and Ram's party anymore. What was going to happen now? The only person she hasn't seen so far was JD, but what would happen if she meets him again for the first time? Besides Heather Chandler, he was one of the people that haunted her mind the most. Having to watch her first love blow up after he tried turning her into one of his victims just minutes before probably traumatized her the most after everything that's happened. So what now? Veronica just had to wait and see.


	3. Ah, Heather and Heather

Things have been different lately. A week has passed and everything was going according to usual routine. Rather than walking with the Heathers, Veronica found herself standing by the side and watching them, trying to observe them to see if anything was odd about them. So far, they seemed completely normal. Well, as normal as a Heather could be. Still the same solid Teflon, except she wasn't one of them anymore. The same was said for Kurt and Ram, the two being the usual meatheads, so Veronica was thankful for that. As for JD, Veronica has seen him walking down the halls, the first time triggering her fight or slight senses so she almost ran into a wall, but she's gotten used to seeing him be a normal student despite the eerie feeling inside her whenever she sees him. On the bright side, she's spent more time with Martha and she's just happy that some part of her feels normal whenever she's with her.

Usually, Heather Mac would join them in their movie nights, but obviously, that couldn't happen now. She never saved Mac from killing herself and technically, she's never actually met Veronica before, so she has absolutely no reason to be with them. A sick feeling appeared in Veronica's stomach when a part of her wished Mac would hang out with them despite everything the girl had to go through to get to that point in their friendship. It was selfish, but Veronica really missed the friend she made in Mac. Most days, when Veronica wasn't spending time with Martha, she would isolate herself in her room or in the bathroom stall to figure her thoughts out. Speaking of bathroom stall, Veronica was sitting on the cold toilet, writing down in her bathroom when she heard the door slam open followed by rushed footsteps.

The stall next to her open and closed and the sound of dry heaving met Veronica's ears. The brunette frowned, already knowing who it was. She fiddled with the pen in her hands, uncomfortably shifting in her seat as she listened to the gagging and the light sobbing coming from who Veronica assumed was Heather Duke in the stall next to hers. Right, Duke hasn't overcome her eating disorder yet. Of course she hasn't, they weren't even at the point where Heather Chandler was dead yet, but she was so used to seeing such a powerful Duke instead of the vulnerable girl in the same room as her. It wasn't like Heather Duke became the HBIC by herself. Once again, JD just had to mess with one of their classmates. Manipulating her to turn into the tyrant she became all so she could make a few students sign a petition for their deaths. Not being able to listen anymore, Veronica got up from the toilet before exiting her stall.

Just as she was about to exit the stall, a voice called out to her. "Is someone there?" It was barely audible and the girl seemed both fearful and tired, but Veronica heard it loud and clear. What was she supposed to do? For the past week, she's done all she could to steer clear of the Heathers and now, she was in the same room as one. What if simply interacting with one of them resets everything back to how everything went the first time? It was a big risk if Veronica replied to Heather in that moment, but the sound of her voice made her rethink. Just from the way she said those three words, desperate and a cry for help, made Veronica want to turn around and help the girl. She sighed, reaching into her pocket to take out a pen, writing something down in her journal before turning around, standing in front of Duke's stall. She ripped off a piece of paper and slid it inside. "Here. Use this and go home for the day." The brunette mumbled, shoving the notebook back into her bag and walking out of the girl's bathroom.

Heather Duke listened as the door closed, lifting her head from the toilet bowl and looking down at the paper on the tiled floor next to her. She picked it up and squinted her eyes to read it since she was still dizzy from all the dry heaving, only to notice that it was an excuse note that would let her leave school early for being sick. Why would someone just have this on hand? It was odd and it confused Heather, but at the same time, she was relieved for the escape in her hands. Having to endure Heather's insults and attacks all day while worrying about her image was exhausting and all she wanted to do was lie in bed and just shut everything out and recharge. Originally, Heather was just going to vomit, put on a strong front and go back to class, but she could actually ditch with the excuse note. Silently thanking whoever gave her this, Heather forced herself to get up from the floor and leave the bathroom to go home.

"Where the hell is she?" Heather Chandler asked in a bitter tone, looking around the cafeteria for their friend in green who should have showed up ten minutes ago. "We were in Calc together earlier and she left for the bathroom and just never came back. I wonder if she's okay." Heather Mac said with a concerned frown on her face. "Whatever. Heather better have a good reason for disappearing. It doesn't look good if we're incomplete." Heather said with a roll of her eyes while Mac simply shrugged before focusing on her food. A girl then walked up to their table with some paper in her hands and a smile on her face. "What do you want, Courtney?" Heather practically hissed at the girl who didn't flinch, used to the angry attitude Heather Chandler always had. "I just wanted to give you these." The girl said, putting the papers on their table. "What's this?" Heather Mac asked, grabbing the papers which she quickly dismissed once she realized they were filled with essay stuff.

"They're notes for Heather since she left school early. Ms. Flemming asked me to write them for her since she left early cause she was sick." Courtney said, grabbing Chandler's attention with her words. "She what?" The girl with red hair asked, making Courtney raise an eyebrow at her. "I assumed you guys knew since you're a group and all." The girl then left without another word, leaving the two alone. "If Heather was feeling sick, she should've said something. We could've went home with her to take care of her." Heather Mac said, ever the worrier. "Oh please, she can handle herself, she's a big girl. I can't believe she just ditched school without telling us. She could've had the decency to bring us along, as if we want to be stuck in this hell hole." Heather Chandler said in an annoyed tone. Veronica sighed from where she was sitting. Her and Martha were sitting at a table close enough to the Heathers' table that she was able to hear their conversation.

Though eavesdropping was bad, Veronica wanted to know what happened with Heather Duke. Part of her thought the brunette wasn't going to take her offer and just stay at school and act like nothing was wrong like usual, but she was thankful that the girl went home and actually took some time for herself. The bell rung and everyone took their time dispersing from the cafeteria to head to their next class. Veronica's next class was Science and she walked with Martha to her locker before separating so Martha could go to her next class which was History. Entering the classroom, Veronica went to her usual seat which was near the back, taking out her journal and writing down her thoughts while other students started piling in, talking with their friends while waiting for the teacher to come in. Veronica forced herself not to look up when she felt someone sit next to her. This was one of the classes she shared with the Heathers and in this one, she shared it with Heather McNamara and she was unfortunate enough to be seated next to her.

The blonde never gave her a second glance, though Veronica found herself having to force her eyes not to turn to her right where the girl was sitting. At this point in time, Heather Mac should be as bubbly as she usually is, always being the better part of the Heathers seeing as she was the nicest one, but Veronica guesses that she isn't all innocent since being an innocent bystander is just as bad, especially if she laughs along to the abuse the kids in the lower part of the social ladder have to endure because of people like her. Nevertheless, Veronica was proud of Mac since once all the chaos was over, Mac actually did change and though it took some time, she learned how to stand up against Duke and anyone else who looked down on her. She remembers nights where her and Martha would have to comfort the crying girl who felt guilty about all the cruel things she took part in when Heather was alive. Still, Veronica had hope. If Heather learned her lesson before, she could learn it again, but this time, without all the death that opened the blonde's eyes in the first place.

Finally, the teacher came in making the room quiet down as she announced a pop quiz about the lesson they had the day before. Without meaning to, Veronica glanced over to her right to check on the girl, noticing the frown on her face which made the brunette frown as well. Another thing Heather would cry about was how she was afraid that when Veronica and Martha would leave for college, she'd be left alone and they'd forget about her once they have their new lives in ivy league schools while she goes to a regular community college. By the time she realized where she went wrong, it was already too late for Heather Mac to improve her grades since it was already so late in the year. Veronica remembers the look on Heather's face back then. The want and need to be better was the look she saw before, and it was the look she saw on the girl's face now. As the papers were handed out, Veronica quickly sped through the test like it was already nothing (and it really was nothing since she already took this test before) and glanced up to check on their teacher who was walking around the room.

Veronica discretely reached into her bag, taking out a blank piece of paper and writing down all the answers onto it, folding it into a small square and looking back up to find the teacher who had her back turned towards them. Veronica then turned to see how Heather was doing, taking note of the distressed look on her face and taking a small peak at her paper to see only three questions answered, only one being correct. Quickly, Veronica lightly tossed the paper over to Mac and the paper successfully landed onto her lap which caught the attention of the blonde. Heather took the paper and turned to Veronica with furrowed eyebrows in confusion. The brunette lifted her finger and put it against her lips before mouthing the words 'Open It' to the girl. Still confused, Mac turned to the paper and slowly unfolded it so the wrinkling wouldn't make any noise. Her eyes widened to see answers on it before turning to Veronica who was already looking forward as if nothing happened.

Heather grinned, quickly writing down all the answers, purposely getting a few numbers wrong so it wouldn't be suspicious while occasionally glancing over to Veronica, the corner of the brunette's lips twitching upwards every time she felt Heather looking at her. It was nice to see the light in Mac's eyes again since she came back in time, but now, they were beaming and it made Veronica happy that she had some part in it. The bell rang and everyone passed their papers before getting up to leave. Veronica made her way to leave the room, but was stopped when she saw Heather Mac standing in front of her with a grin on her face. "Hey, thanks a lot for your help on the test. I swear, I would've gotten an F again if you didn't give me those answers." Heather said with a grateful tone. "It was nothing. I saw you struggling and I didn't want you to just fail." Veronica said with a shrug, feeling the usual weight she felt on her shoulders lift ever so slightly from finally talking to one of the Heathers.

"Well, I really appreciate it. You just saved my ass." Mac said making a light laugh come out of Veronica's mouth. "Really, it wasn't a problem." Veronica said while adjusting the bag on her shoulder. Her eyes landed on the other students who were whispering and glancing at the two, probably wondering why someone as popular as Heather was talking to a nobody like her. Veronica frowned, not wanting Heather to get in trouble with Chandler for talking to someone that wasn't popular. She knew exactly what it felt like to be on the other side of her anger, especially since she was friends with Martha and she didn't want Heather to have to endure the same thing since she has to endure simply being around her on a daily basis. "I should get going, I don't want to be late for my next class." Veronica said with a smile, sending the girl a nod before moving past her and leaving the room. 

She's had a run in with two Heathers in one day. Though her interaction with Heather Duke was brief, she had actually talked face to face with Mac and Veronica didn't know how to feel. Would that set the timeline into something bad? What if Heather Mac told Chandler about her and they invited her into the group? Everything would be back in place and all the chaos and death would happen again. Veronica didn't know what she'd do if she had to go through all that terror and trauma a second time. Even so, she wasn't just going to leave the two hanging. Even if they don't remember her, once upon a time, the three of them were friends. The relationship was very strained and at times didn't feel real, but they had their moments and they were friends nevertheless. Even if they wouldn't do the same for her, she wasn't gonna stand by this time. She finally has a chance to do better and that was exactly what she was going to do.


	4. An Excellent Forgery

Veronica found herself writing in her journal inside the girl's bathroom once again. She had a free period and Martha was currently in history, so she didn't really have anything else to do. The brunette was currently writing about everything that's happened in that day so far seeing as she interacted with two out of three of the Heathers for the first time and she wanted to see if anything had changed. So far, it was still the same, just like always and Veronica let herself breathe in the mean time. She's gone back to living a life of constant torment from people on the higher part of the social ladder and Veronica was confident in saying that getting shoved around and having her stuff slapped out of her hands every few minutes was something she did not miss at all. The nightmares haven't gone away too. Veronica still found herself flinching at any sudden or loud noises and she'd always subconsciously check over her shoulder as if something was gonna attack her at any second. Worst thing was that she didn't have anyone to talk about it with. 

In her first life, Veronica's parents had gotten her a therapist to help deal with all the trauma she was going through even though they didn't know what the cause was. She had antidepressants and sleeping pills to help her get through the day, but now she didn't even have any of those. But most importantly, she had emotional support from her friends and really, all she wanted was someone to hold her and tell her that everything was going to be okay and reassure her that nothing bad was going to happen this time around. Veronica knows Martha's been worried about her these past few days, always stealing looks at the girl who always looked tired and down. It's taken so much force for Veronica to not just spill everything to Martha.

Many things could go wrong if she did. Martha could tell her parents and she might get taken to a mental institute and as much as Veronica wanted help, she didn't want to leave Westerberg, especially since she was the only one who knew about any potential events which meant that she was the only one with the power to stop it if it ever happened. Besides, in the off chance that Martha would believe her, she didn't want to put that burden on the girl. She had tried to commit suicide after all, who's to say she won't do it again if she found out the truth? That was another thing Veronica has been stressing about lately. She's been constantly doubting herself, asking herself if everything that happened was just a dream and it never happened and this was actually her first time going through senior high?

She kept telling herself that it would be impossible because all of that was too real and no dream would leave such a lasting mark on her. Veronica's not a professional, but she's never heard of gaining trauma from simple dreams. Still, the thought was always in her mind and it kept appearing in her head. Part of Veronica felt like she was going absolutely insane, but she made sure to keep herself grounded, letting out her emotions through endless nights of crying and screaming in her pillow to at least get all the stress out. The only time Veronica will get peace is when she's sure all her friends are safe. With all these thoughts running through her head, Veronica found herself trembling and she had to pin her hand down to stop it from shaking too much which made her pen fall to the floor and roll out of the stall. 

The brunette cursed under her breath, getting up and slinging her bag over her shoulder before walking out of the stall, bending over to get her pen when a hand took it before she could. Shocked, Veronica stood up straight and gaped at the familiar face which sent her a curious look. Veronica was sure she was alone in the bathroom, but then again, there were plenty of moments where Veronica felt like she was in her own little world which made her senses dull to anything other than what her mind was feeling. The two girls stood in front of each other in the silent bathroom, Veronica trying to find any words to say while her nerves flared up from having to look Heather Duke in the eyes for the first time in a long while as the girl in green looked her up and down. 

When Veronica stayed silent, Heather Duke handed the girl her pen and it took Veronica a second to process before taking the pen and muttering a light thank you to the girl. "Do you normally just have absence notes on you or was I just lucky yesterday?" Heather Duke asked, breaking the silence as she walked over to the sinks, leaning against the counter while Veronica watched her movements carefully. "I don't know what you're talking about." The taller girl said, hugging her journal close to her chest and looking away when Duke caught her eyes. "Sure, because your constant scribbling in the stall totally didn't give you away." Heather said with a roll of her eyes. Veronica felt tense in that moment. Usually she would have no problem holding a conversation with Duke seeing as she was the only one Veronica could actually talk about things she liked without getting an eye roll out of annoyance or a head tilt from confusion.

"How'd you manage to get that absence note and why would you waste it on me?" Heather Duke asked, pushing herself off the counter and slowly walking over to Veronica. The girl had to admit, Heather Duke didn't get enough credit. Sure, she was seen as Heather Chandler's number two who would always be at her beck and call, but when Heather Duke wanted to, she was really strong and could hold her own really well. It's probably why JD thought she was the best suited to lead the school when Heather died. Too bad Heather Duke was constantly silenced by Heather Chandler, it's probably why Heather Duke became as ruthless as she did. Veronica remembers having conversations with the girl about how she wanted to have people look in her eyes like she was an actual person and not someone to be feared before everything went down.

Heather Duke was just teetering over the edge and the little push JD gave her was enough to make her crack. But looking at the girl now, Veronica could still see some light in Duke's eyes. It wasn't very bright, but it was there. Maybe if Veronica played her cards right, she could make that light become brighter and protect Duke from going to the 'dark side'. Four deaths weren't the only thing that went wrong the first time after all. "I-I can forge handwriting. I can do report cards, permission slips, absence notes, you name it." Veronica said, taking out one of the blank hall passes she had in her journal, writing something down and handing it to Duke, repeating the same words she said when she first met the Heathers. Duke examined the slip, eyebrows raising in intrigue as she looked back up to Veronica with a glint in her eyes.

"How about prescriptions?" Duke asked and Veronica held back the wince that wanted to come out from her. Nice to see that Heather's priorities were still the same. "No. I can't do those." Veronica lied. Obviously, she could if she wanted to, but the whole point of even talking to Duke right now instead of running away was to help her and giving her a free pass to any medication she wanted would be pretty redundant. "That's a shame." Duke said with a sigh, handing the hall pass back to Veronica. "I guess you're not completely useless. How many people know about this talent of yours?" Heather Duke asked the girl. "Just me and my best friend." Veronica answered, a mischievous smile appearing on Duke's face. "So I have you for myself." Duke said making Veronica raise her eyebrows at the word. "That's definitely one way of wording it." She mumbled and the shorter girl rolled her eyes, ignoring the words.

"Unless you live under a rock, you should already know about my influence here." Heather Duke said, walking back to the sink and sitting on top of the counters, her legs dangling off the edge. "Of course I do. It'd be hard not to especially since you three are practically walking traffic lights." Veronica said, muttering the last sentence to herself, but Heather Duke heard all of it, though she smiled in amusement at the words. "At least you're not a pillowcase. Glad to see someone with actual guts around this school." Heather Duke said, satisfied that someone was actually talking to her like an equal for once. "I want to make a deal with you." Heather Duke said making Veronica raise an eyebrow at her in question. "And that is?" She asked and Duke looked her up and down.

"Just from your fashion choices, I can tell that you're part of the... lower side of our school. I see how people like you are treated everyday for merely existing. How about you give me a free pass to any situation I want with your forgeries and I guarantee you protection. You can go through the rest of your senior year unbothered and in peace." Heather Duke offered and Veronica furrowed her eyebrows. Well, this was certainly different. Then again, she wasn't really surprised that Heather would take advantage of this situation. Like she said, she had Veronica 'all to herself' and she could use her talent any moment she liked and if the old Veronica was offered this opportunity, she'd take it in a flash. But now, she had to think. What would happen if she accepted Duke's deal? How would that benefit the timeline? She'd have a direct connection with a Heather, but it wasn't like before. Making this deal with Heather wouldn't get her to the top of the food chain. She'd still be at the bottom, but she'd be safe.

No make over, no blue blazer, no having to trick Martha, no invitations to parties and no reason to go over to Heather Chandler's to apologize only to accidentally kill her and starting the chain of events that lead to all the chaos. Not only that, but she'd be around Heather Duke enough times to try and get through to her and possibly help her through her insecurities and inferiority complex. Though JD was still going to be a problem. If it wasn't for him, Heather Chandler wouldn't have died, then there would be no need to kill Kurt and Ram, then there would be no reason for Heather Mac and Martha to attempt suicide and there'd be no reason for Duke to have to take over as the new mythic bitch. But she has been doing a good job of avoiding the boy in every way. She doesn't even have any classes with him which has proven to be good.

So looking at it from all sides, accepting Duke's offer really didn't have any negative outcomes and could actually be very beneficial. "Are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna give me an answer?" Duke asked impatiently, snapping Veronica out of her thoughts. Veronica nodded with a determined look on her face, stretching her hand out to the girl. "We have a deal." Duke looked down at Veronica's hand with a raised eyebrow which made the taller girl mentally curse in her head. Right, the last time she offered a handshake to a Heather, she was rejected and it was one of the memories that used to keep her up at night just when she's about to sleep cause of the embarrassment. Just as she was about to retract her hand, Heather Duke hopped off of the sink, walking over to Veronica and shaking her hand with a firm grip.

"We can't keep meeting here because anyone could walk in. Fortunately, we were able to talk without being disturbed, but still, I can't risk being seen associating with you. No offense." Duke said and Veronica shook her head in reply. "None taken." She said and Heather made a sound of approval. "There's a place in the library that's completely deserted. It's at the very back in the left corner of the room, not even the nerds hang out there because the only books there are shitty romance novels without any real plot. We can meet there without risking being seen." Heather Duke explained and Veronica nodded. "How will I know if I'm supposed to meet you there?" Veronica asked and Heather shook her hand dismissively. "I'll just slip a note in your locker." Heather Duke said as she made her way to the door. "But you don't know where my locker is." Veronica said. "I'll find out somehow." Heather replied, making her way to leave the bathroom before stopping and turning to the taller girl.

"Oh, I forgot. I didn't catch your name." Heather Duke said and Veronica felt her face pale at what she said, the world before her shifting in front of her eyes. No longer did Veronica see the girl in green in front of her as all she could see was the charming boy in the trench coat, the boy who she actually thought was cool, giving her a witty reply when she asked him the same thing. Looking back, it was really scary. How could someone so sweet and gentle become a homicidal psycho? With a gulp, Veronica forced herself out of her hallucination in order to reply to Heather Duke and not make herself look like anymore of a weirdo. "Veronica... Sawyer." Veronica said and Heather Duke gave her a curious look before nodding. "I'll see you later, Veronica." And with that, she left the bathroom, leaving Veronica alone to gather her thoughts. The sudden sound of the bell ringing made Veronica jump, a shiver running down her spine from the shock. With a sigh, Veronica put away her journal and walked out of the bathroom.

Just like usual, Veronica walked down the halls with her head down, using only her peripherals to see where she was going as she got lost in her thoughts while seeming invisible to everyone else. The occasional shove reminded her where she was, but it felt like nothing could get her out of her own head. That was until someone bumped into her particularly rougher than the others have. It all went by so fast and Veronica barely even processed what was going on until she looked up to see the dark eyes that haunted her in her sleep every single night. She was frozen where she stood, barely even hearing the muttered 'excuse me' coming from his mouth as he placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her before walking away. She didn't notice because all she could focus on was the aching in her head, the quickened pace of her heart beat, the sweat forming on her hands and the tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

People gave her odd looks for standing like a statue when she should be getting to class, but soon enough, Veronica was alone in the empty hallways that were so quiet that she could hear a pin drop. That was the first time she's ever made any form of contact with JD and she could still feel his hand on her shoulder from when he touched her and all Veronica wanted to do was shower and clean herself until that feeling disappeared. Out of everyone that died, JD was the one who haunted her the most. Sure, there were the occasional quips from Kurt and Ram in her head and the mockery of Heather Chandler, but then there was the guilt and regret that appeared almost every single night in the form of Jason Dean. What's crazy is that she still feels love for the boy who flipped her world upside down for the worst. That was what pained her the most because how could she love a person who barely batted an eye at killing three teenagers?


	5. Ms. No Named Kid

Heather Mac grinned as the teacher started giving out their test papers and her grin only widened once she got hers, the number ninety-three written on the upper right corner of her paper in red marker. It was thrilling to finally see a score that wasn't under fifty on her papers even if she had some help with it. Speaking of help, Heather turned to her left, about to thank the girl who practically saved her ass until she noticed the dazed look on her face. This made Heather frown. After the girl had helped her, Heather's noticed that she'd always have that look on her face and it made her sad to see the person who had helped her out for no reason look so upset all the time. The girl didn't even blink when her test paper was placed on her desk, her eyes trained onto her lap while she fiddled with her hands. Not liking that the girl was sad, Heather Mac tried to get her attention.

"Psst!" Heather said softly and the sound seemed to snap the brunette out of her trance, looking over to Heather while humming, her attention not fully there. "What did you get?" Heather asked with a bright smile and the girl furrowed her eyes in confusion until her eyes landed on the test paper in Heather's hands. "Oh." She said, lightly shaking her head to compose herself before taking her paper, giving it a glance and showing it to Heather, the large one hundred standing out immediately to the blonde. "Ooh, nice one! Here's mine!" Heather Mac said, flipping her paper and showcasing it to the brunette with a proud smile on her face. The girl looked at Heather's score before sending the girl a small smile. "That's really great, Heather. Good job." The girl said and Heather's smile widened at the words of approval. 

Heather focused her attention back to the front of the class when the teacher started their lecture. Occasionally, she would glance over to her left to see the girl with the same dazed look on her face. It upset Heather Mac a bit, but irregardless, nothing could ruin her mood in that moment, not after she actually got a high score on her test. Sure, she cheated and got answers from someone else, but it was the first time she's seen a high score on her tests in awhile. All her focus went to cheer leading and keeping her image up as part of the Heathers that she never really prioritized studying since it didn't seem as important as anything else. It wasn't like she wanted to fail, she just had other things to do. Once the bell rang, Heather started fixing her things before getting up and turning to her left to speak to the girl, only to realize that she was already making her way out of the door. 

Heather frowned, making a move to catch up with the girl until she was stopped by one of her classmates wanting to talk to her. Not wanting to be rude, Heather took part in the conversation, but now without constantly glancing at the door where the girl had left. It was only then did she realize that she didn't even know the girl's name. Mac has seen her wandering the halls with Martha Dumptruck at times, but she never really cared unless they were making fun of them. They make fun of people all the time, she couldn't be expected to just remember everyone they've made fun of. Though even if she didn't know the brunette's name, she was still very thankful for her and it seemed that Heather took notice of her bright mood once she sat down at their lunch table. "What are you smiling about?" Heather asked in an annoyed tone.

"What do you mean? I smile all the time." Mac replied with a pout which only made Heather narrow her eyes at her. "Yes, but you're smiling too much and it's making me want to hurl and I don't feel like going down Heather's route." Heather Chandler said, making Heather frown until she realized something. "Where is Heather anyway?" The cheerleader of the group asked, looking around the cafeteria to try and find her friend. "Probably ditching again. I swear, the next time she ditches us without saying anything, I will banish her from sitting with us for a week since she seems to like eating lunch alone." Heather Chandler said with a huff, glancing around the cafeteria as well before focusing her attention on Mac. "Now, back on track. Why are you so happy?" Chandler asked and Mac grinned at the memory, taking out her test paper and giving it to Heather Chandler.

"You actually got a high score. What poor soul did you force to give you answers?" Heather Chandler asked and Mac frowned at the words. "Why do you automatically assume I got answers from someone else?" She asked which made the strawberry blonde raise an eyebrow at her. "Did you?" She asked and the girl looked down. "No. Well, kind of. I didn't really ask. This girl just slipped me the answers in the middle of the test." Heather explained and her friend scoffed. "Probably just some loser who wants attention. Thinks that if she does you a favor, you'll do her one in return." She said with a huff and Heather took a moment to think before humming in reply. "I don't think that's the case." Mac said which made Heather narrow her eyes at her. "How can you be so sure?" She asked and the other blonde shrugged.

"When I thanked her after the class ended, she didn't really ask for anything. Then earlier, I showed her my test and she didn't ask for anything either." Heather explained and Chandler rolled her eyes. "She's probably just waiting for the perfect time to use it. Who is this girl anyway?" Heather asked. "I don't actually know her name." Heather mumbled in an embarrassed tone which made Chandler give her a deadpanned look. "How do you not know her name?" She asked. "I forgot to ask!" Heather exclaimed as her friend rolled her eyes. "Whatever. You'll probably find out her name soon enough." Heather said while Mac looked around the cafeteria once more. "Maybe I should find her and go ask her. She usually sits with Martha Dumptruck, so it should be pretty easy to find her." Heather said which made the eyes of the girl across her widen.

"Martha Dumptruck? If this girl hangs out with her, then she must be as much of a loser as she is. There is no way you're associating with someone like her, or have you forgotten your role here?" Heather Chandler asked and Mac looked down to her lap. "No..." She mumbled. "We can't be seen hanging around with the slum of this school or else people might think it's okay to approach us whenever they want." Heather explained and Mac looked up to her in confusion. "But Kurt and Ram talk to us whenever they want." She said and the girl across her rolled her eyes. "That's because they're popular. They may be complete meatheads, but their status makes them worthy of our attention." Heather said and Mac nodded before looking around once more, her shoulders sagging once she couldn't find the girl. "Well, that won't be a problem cause she's not even here." Heather Mac said with a pout. "Whatever. Just make sure that when you ask her what her name is, you ask her in a place where you're not seen by too many people." Heather said and Mac nodded her head before the girl in red changed the topic.

Meanwhile, Veronica was leaning against the bookcase at the very back of the library where Heather Duke asked her to meet, reading one of the books there and finding that Heather was right, the books in that section really did suck. Apparently she was also right about finding out where her locker was because the moment she opened her locker, a tiny post it note was there waiting for her, telling her to meet Duke at the spot at lunch. The sound of heels reached her ears, but Veronica kept her focus on the book, trying to find any redeeming qualities in the writing which was slowly proving her wrong with each word she read next. "You were right, the books here are shit." Veronica said with a grimace before looking up at Heather who stood in front of her with an amused look. 

"It's your fault for doubting me," she said before her eyes landed on the book in Veronica's hand, "Let me see." Veronica wordlessly handed the book to Heather who took it, skimming over the synopsis before going to the first page. "I doubt you'll even get through the first chapter, you can already tell what type of book it is after a few pages." Veronica said and true to her words, Heather scrunched up her face from how bad it already was. "I'm pretty sure this book is meant for lonely middle aged women who live alone and are divorced." Heather Duke said which made the girl in front of her let out a laugh. "Oddly specific, but it sounds accurate." Veronica said while Duke closed the book and handed it back to the taller girl. "So, what do you need?" Veronica asked, reaching into her bag and taking out her journal and a pen. "I have gym class later and I don't feel like attending. Make me a note so I can skip it." Heather said, eyeing Veronica as she quickly wrote her request down on a piece of paper, ripping it off when she was done before handing it to the other girl.

"How did you learn how to forge handwriting anyway?" Heather Duke said, gazing down at the slip in her hands with an impressed look while Veronica shrugged in reply. "I don't know, I just always had it in me. I'd look at someone's handwriting once or twice and I would instantly know how to copy it." She said and Heather hummed while stuffing the slip in her blazer. "It's quite a talent, I'm surprised you've kept this to yourself, forgery can be very beneficial, you know?" Heather Duke said and in that moment, Veronica was hit with a flashback. No longer in the library as she was sent back to the moment where Heather Chandler collapsed onto the ground and where she wrote the fake suicide note that made her more popular than ever. Back to where she was in her room forging Ram and Kurt's fake suicide pact note before going to the woods and unknowingly killing them. "Forgery can also ruin someone's life, and I have no interest in doing that." Veronica mumbled, putting back her journal while Duke analyzed her curiously.

"Well, you're definitely making mine easier." Heather Duke said with a shrug, ignoring the vague words Veronica spoke. "I'll make sure to hold up my end of the deal. It's a pleasure doing business with you, Veronica." Heather said, sending Veronica a nod which the girl returned before walking off. Duke had instructed Veronica in her note to not leave at the same time as Duke did since people might see them and stir up rumors, so Veronica sighed, leaning back against the bookcase and gathering her thoughts. After a few minutes passed, Veronica left the library and headed to the cafeteria seeing as she didn't want to leave Martha hanging. Once she entered, she got a tray and went in line to grab some food before heading to her table. Well, that was the plan until her eyes caught Kurt and Ram mumbling to each other while glancing over to a certain table.

Veronica froze in her spot once she realized what was going to happen. This was where everything started. If she remembers correctly, Ram and Kurt would approach JD at any moment to provoke and get a rise out of him which would lead to JD pulling out his gun at them that was filled with blanks. There was no doubt that she remembered correctly, because she remembers repeating that scenario in her mind multiple times and actually thinking that the boy was cool for doing what he did. But now that Veronica knew what JD was actually capable of doing, she realized how messed up it was. What if this event started another chain of events that led to a bunch of murders turned pseudo suicides? Veronica needed to do something, especially since Kurt and Ram were getting up and walking over to JD's table.

__________

"Well, look who decided to finally show up!" Heather Chandler said once Duke sat down at their table. "Glad to see you've decided to join us for once seeing as you ditched us yesterday." She continued and Duke looked down, feeling herself grow small with the glare the green eyed girl was sending her. "I got caught up at class, Ms. Flemming needed me to catch up on some things since I wasn't at her class yesterday." Duke said, the lie coming out easy since she's been rehearsing it in her mind while she walked to the cafeteria. Heather narrowed her eyes at the girl in green which made her shrink even more in her seat. God, she hated it whenever Heather looked at her in such a belittling way. It always rendered her completely useless since she'd never be able to focus properly on anything. "Whatever. The fact that you're late doesn't help the situation either. Keep this up and you'll be eating lunch by the trash cans with the losers over there." Heather Chandler said, tilting her head in the direction of the trash cans.

The other two Heathers turned their heads to look at where Chandler was pointing to see where Martha Dunnstock was sitting alone, head down and playing with her food while people would purposely hit their trays on her back while walking. Duke furrowed her eyebrows lightly to see her alone. Veronica would usually sit with her, she knows that because she gathered as much information about the girl once she came into school early for the yearbook committee. It was one of the things Duke prided herself with, seeing as she knew everything about everyone and it was probably one of the only reasons why Heather Chandler kept her in the group. Her eyes roamed the cafeteria until they landed on the very girl she was searching for, just standing and gaping in the middle of the cafeteria. 'What was she doing?' Duke asked herself, her curiosity turning into shock as she watched Veronica run straight into Kurt and Ram, the food on her tray crashing into both of them, making their varsity jackets become stained.

"Watch where you're going, you bitch!" Kurt said, shoving Veronica roughly and as the girl stumbled backwards, Ram groaned in disgust as he wiped off some of the food left over on his shirt and jacket. "Look what you did! You're gonna pay for this." The boy said as both him and Kurt started approaching the girl in a menacing manner and Veronica stepped back with each step they took. 'Oh no.' Duke thought, her eyes widening, glancing over to Heather Chandler who, along with the rest of the students in the lunchroom, was watching in intrigue. Remembering their deal, Duke prepared herself to get up and hold up her end of the bargain when her mind went to Heather Chandler and the possible consequences she could face by cutting into the drama.

She was already on thin ice for missing lunch yesterday and being late, so helping Veronica out would only do more damage. How could Veronica be stupid enough to run into Kurt and Ram like that? Any loser should be used to watching where they go at all times in this school by now, and she's a senior too, so she's experienced the dangers of running into someone, let alone someone popular. Fuck it. Veronica would seriously owe her a lot for this one. Just when Heather was about to get up, Mac surprised both her and the girl in red by getting up and walking over to the three, tapping Ram on the shoulder which made both boys turn around at the distraction, but their expressions of anger quickly shifted into lust and adoration at the sight of the blonde. "What is she doing?" Heather Chandler mumbled in annoyance, glaring at the girl for interrupting the confrontation. "I don't know." Was all Heather Duke could say in reply.

"Hey, guys." Heather Mac said casually with the sweetest smile she could muster which left the two dumbfounded. "H-Hi." Ram blurted out and Kurt nodded. "What he said." Kurt said, pointing over to his friend as they were left shocked from actually talking to one of the Heathers since they were so used to approaching them first. "So, I was wondering something about your party." Heather said, her arm hanging off of Kurt's shoulders which pretty much made the boy malfunctioned. "Uh huh." He said with a nod and Heather grinned at him, glancing over to Veronica who gave her a grateful look before quickly escaping. With that, Heather relaxed and played off the conversation, the two boys completely forgetting about what they were doing earlier and walking off proudly once they were done with their conversation.

Heather Chandler sent the girl a glare when she sat back down, but Mac ignored her, going back to her food like she didn't do anything wrong (which, technically, she didn't). "What the hell was that?" Chandler asked and Heather Mac looked up from her food to face her friend with an innocent and confused look on her face. "What was what?" She asked, tilting her head which made Heather contemplate for a second. "That. You just interrupted a good show." Heather said and Mac turned back to where she was previously standing before turning back to Chandler. "I was just asking Kurt if I should bring anything to the party." Heather Mac said and Heather paused for a second before lightly groaning to herself. "Whatever. I'm getting cheese fries." Chandler said, standing up and walking away which made Mac let out a breath of relief, causing Duke to eye her in suspicion. Mac would deal with Heather if she asked about it, but right now, she was just glad that she was able to save the girl who helped her, even though she still didn't even know her name.


	6. The Extreme Always Seem To Make An Impression

Veronica got up from her seat, making her way out the door when she was met by a bright smile and friendly face. Though, she did jump and yelp from how sudden it was. "Jesus, Heather. You scared me." Veronica mumbled and the girl's smile only widened before she grabbed Veronica's wrist. "Come with me, I need to talk to you about something." The blonde said and before the taller girl could even let out a syllable, she was quickly pulled away faster than she could comprehend and Veronica doesn't even know how they ended up by the parking lot behind the school. "Slow down, will you." Veronica said, stumbling when Mac abruptly stopped and turned to her. "I need your help." She said, her emotions still as bubbly as ever, but there was a hint of seriousness in her eyes. Veronica stood up straighter at the words, sending Heather a curious look. "I have to know what you need help with before agreeing." The brunette said.

"Oh, right. Duh." Heather Mac said with a slight laugh when she realized her mistake. "First," Heather Mac said looking down shyly before gathering the courage to look back at Veronica with a sheepish smile. "I don't actually know your name." She said and Veronica's eyebrows rose in amusement, opening her mouth to speak, but Heather didn't seem to notice considering she started to ramble. "Which is stupid, cause you helped me and all, plus, you know my name which makes it even worse that I don't know yours. We've already talked, like, two times already and it's embarrassing how long it took me to realize that I didn't even know your name." Heather said, not noticing the way Veronica would try to cut in throughout her rambling. "So it's really embarrassing that I have absolutely no clue-" Heather stopped when she noticed the outstretched hand in front of her. "Veronica." The brunette said with a small smile which made Heather grin. 

"Heather." She said, grabbing onto Veronica's hand and happily shaking it. Seeing as Duke shook her hand instead of leaving her hanging, Veronica decided that Mac probably wouldn't do the same as Chandler since she was too sweet and innocent to do that. "Yeah, I know." Veronica said and Heather paused before nodding to herself when she caught herself slipping up again. "Now that you know my name, what to do you need help with?" Veronica asked and Heather's eyes lit up at the reminder of why she dragged Veronica here in the first place. "Right! I need you to help me with my grades." Heather Mac said, reaching for Veronica's hands and holding them up while grinning excitedly at the taller girl. "Wait, what?" Veronica asked. Sure, she was definitely curious as to why Heather was suddenly talking to her out of the blue, especially after what happened at the cafeteria with Kurt and Ram, but she definitely didn't expect this. 

"So I've been thinking about it a lot. I haven't had a grade over fifty, sixty-five if I'm lucky, since I was a freshman and I forgot how good it felt to have high marks on your test." Heather Mac explained and Veronica nodded, understanding what the girl meant. "Oh, so you need tutoring." She said, not finding anything odd with the request because the Mac she knew before the reset actually asked for the same thing. "No, not really." Heather Mac said and Veronica's confusion came back with the words. "Okay... How am I supposed to help you with your grades, then?" Veronica asked. "Well, you gave me an answer key on our test a few days ago. You can just do the same now! I don't really have time for tutoring since I'm always busy." Heather said, letting go of one of Veronica's hands to wave it dismissively before latching onto it again.

"What about actually learning something?" Veronica asked which made Mac giggle. "Nobody said anything about learning, silly! I just want to have high scores again." Mac said which made Veronica furrow her eyebrows. How did Heather expect to raise her grades up without doing anything? The Heather she knew actually wanted to try and learn something, so it was hard for Veronica to make sense of Heather's request. "I'm sorry, but how will that work?" Veronica asked and Heather tilted her head in confusion. "It's really simple. Whenever we have tests, you can give me the answers and we'll be good!" The blonde explained happily, only furthering Veronica's confusion. It was a very odd request to stay the least. Heather was basically asking Veronica to help her cheat her way to the top and it didn't really sit well with Veronica. "Heather, when was the last time you actually studied?" Veronica asked and Heather's eyes widened nervously from the sudden question. "I-I don't get it, what does that have to do with helping me?" She asked, her smile faltering as she thought about the answer to that question.

"I was just wondering because-" Heather didn't understand why Veronica was asking all these questions. In her mind, it was really easy. Veronica seemed like a smart girl, giving her answers didn't seem like a hard task, so why was she being so difficult with this? It's not like Veronica will lose anything by agreeing, so why couldn't she just say yes? "If you didn't want to help me, you could have just said so." Mac said defensively, cutting Veronica off mid sentence and letting go of the hand that was still holding Veronica's. "I just wanted to raise my grades for once, is that too much to ask?" Heather mumbled sadly, fiddling with her fingers and looking up to look at Veronica once more before leaving the parking lot. Veronica stood in shock as she tried to process what just happened. That was the closest thing to an outburst Veronica's ever seen Mac act and even then it was odd. The girl was rarely ever upset and even when she was, it was never over something as little as that. It confused Veronica to no end. Her Heather was never like this and even invested her time into learning so it's shocking for her to be so defensive about it, let alone be defensive about anything at all.

She sighed, shoulders sagging from making her friend upset for a reason she didn't know before leaning against the fence and reaching into her pocket and taking out a cigarette and lighter. Originally, Veronica had tried to quit smoking since it only brought up bad memories, but after finding some in almost every pocket of clothing she had, it became hard to resist. Veronica knows she should've went through with trying to quit, but it was her only way to relax these days because she didn't have anyone to help her with the noises in her head that constantly mocked and belittled her. Whatever, bad habits die hard after all. "Mind letting me borrow that lighter?" Veronica froze from where she stood, her shoulders tensing as all her senses seemed to go up at a max. Speaking of bad habits and bad memories. The boy in the trench coat eyed the lighter in her hands and Veronica knew that she should just walk away, but once she looked into those eyes, her body started moving on it's own.

Wordlessly, Veronica handed her lighter over to JD who muttered a thanks before pulling out a cigarette of his own. After lighting his cigarette, JD handed Veronica back her lighter before leaning against the fence next to the girl which made her mind go into a frenzy. Why must she be so weak? After everything he's done, why did she still long to be with him? It was like a pull she couldn't control that just begged for her to give in and let herself fall into the rabbit hole that is Jason Dean without any chance of getting out. All the trauma she's going through is because of him, so for once, why can't her mind just be rational? "Heather trying to make you do your homework or something?" He asked while letting out a huff of smoke, his eyes turning to Veronica who looked down, having a mental battle on whether she should reply or just leave. "I see you're not much of a talker. I'll leave you to yourself then." JD asked before throwing down his cigarette and stepping on it to put it out. "Well, thank you for your service of giving me your lighter for a smoke. I'll be off." JD said, giving Veronica a nod before walking off. It was only when the boy was out of sight did Veronica crack. 

To any outsider who managed to catch their interaction, it would have just been any ordinary exchange for a smoke, but to Veronica, it was one of the most nerve wracking things she's ever experienced since coming back in time. She gripped onto the fence and tried to control her breathing. Her knees were shaking and it was getting hard for her to keep herself up on her own. She closed her eyes, trying to get rid of the thoughts screaming at her before immediately regretting her decision because now, all she could see was those dark eyes and that charming yet sinister smile of his. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? Why couldn't he just disappear? It was the least he could do after everything he's put her through, so why must he haunt her every single day in her mind. But now he has the audacity to talk to her. 

No, that was wrong. Veronica shook her head as she dragged a hand down her face, opening her eyes to try and rid her sight of the boy. This JD hasn't done anything wrong, she shouldn't pin the wrongdoings of her JD to this one since technically, he was still innocent. The sound of the bell ringing from inside the school snapped Veronica out from her thoughts with a jump, so she quickly put out her own cigarette and made her way back inside the school, her mind still racing while the voices in her head grew louder and louder. Not even realizing she even made it to her locker, she opened it and her eyes darted down to where a note was left on top of her books. Veronica wasn't in the proper mental state of mind to face another Heather right now, but it honestly beats going to class, especially since she wouldn't be able to focus anyway. She arrived at the library and made her way to the back where her and Duke usually met and saw that the girl was already there.

"Hey, what do you need?" Veronica asked which made Duke jump and yelp in shock. "Jesus! Way to sneak up on someone, Veronica." Duke said, lightly glaring at Veronica who turned away. "I'm sorry." She mumbled while taking out her journal and pen as Duke eyes her curiously. Usually the girl would have some sort of witty response to counter what she said, so seeing her just back down like that made her think to herself for a second. "Whatever." She mumbled, simply dismissing her observation before focusing back on the matter at hand. "Ms. Carlton has a test today and I didn't care to study, give me something to get out of it, but don't give me a sick note. It's a bit suspicious if I keep using those." Duke said and Veronica nodded. "I can give you a hall pass so you can roam freely, just make sure you don't run into any of the same teachers twice." Veronica said, giving the finished product to Duke who grinned.

She had a hunch that she would never get used to seeing the amazing replicas made from Veronica's forgery as she analyzed the hall pass in her hands. The sound of pen scribbling on paper caught her attention and she turned her head to face Veronica who was focused on writing something in her journal. "What's that?" Duke asked, her curiosity getting the best of her as she looked at what Veronica was doing. "Absence note." Veronica mumbled, ripping off the slip before putting her journal and pen back into her bag. "Oh, I'm good with the hall pass, I don't need that." Duke said with a shrug. "It's for me..." Veronica said and Duke eyed the way the girl was furiously scratching at the side of her finger with her thumb. "Oh... What for?" Heather asked and Veronica looked up at her and slightly froze. She was very twitchy and jumpy today which made Heather feel awkward, not knowing why the girl was acting so odd. Her thoughts were going haywire so of course her mind would do this to her now. All she could see was Heather wearing all red with that smug smirk on her face as she radiated power from her very being.

Veronica had half a mind to slap it off her face just like she's done before, but when the actual Heather Duke called out her name, the image of the tyrant disappeared and she was faced with narrowed eyes filled with questions waiting to be let out. "I'm sorry, I'm just really out of it today." Veronica said, stumbling over her words a bit as she reached up to grip the strap of her bag to stop herself from fidgeting. "I can see that." Heather Duke said, eyeing the girl up and down before giving her a look of slight concern. "Hey, are you oka-" Duke was cut off mid way when Veronica shook her head frantically. "I have to go." She said, letting her head fall as she walked past Duke and quickly made her way out of the library in a hastened pace. Heather watched as Veronica left in utter confusion. To Heather Duke, Veronica was very... odd to say the least. There have been occasions when they'd meet where Veronica would act completely comfortable around her, but there were also moments where she was tense and fidgety around her, just like now.

Well, whatever. Their agreement didn't say anything about caring for the other's well being, so really, there was no reason for Duke to give it another thought. Duke stuffed the note into her blazer and walked out of the library to continue on with her day. Meanwhile, Veronica went to the front desk and gave the secretary her absence note before leaving the school. She'd have to walk back home since the bus wouldn't arrive for another three hours anyway. Her parents wouldn't be back until past five so she wouldn't have to think of an excuse as to why she was home early. Nothing has happened yet, but it was like Veronica's anxiety was worse than ever lately. Her encounter with JD certainly didn't help the already mess that was her thoughts. Not to mention the fact that Kurt and Ram's party was approaching and that's where everything went wrong. There were a lot of things to consider to make sure Heather Chandler wouldn't die.

First of all, Veronica wasn't even part of the Heathers so there was no reason for her to attend the party and even if she wanted to, she wasn't exactly invited and she doesn't think Ram and Kurt would take kindly to a loser crashing their party. Before, when Veronica entered the seven-eleven to get Heather her corn nuts, she ran into JD and had her first full on conversation with the boy where he told her more about him which only increased her interest in the boy. At the party, Martha comes over and the Heathers try to play that stupid pinata prank on the girl and that's where she sabotages it and gets kicked out of the Heathers. Not even going to the party won't trigger a bunch of those events, but Veronica wonders if that's enough. She's watched Back to The Future already and time travel is an unpredictable thing even if Veronica doesn't know how she's done it exactly. Marty McFly went through all that trouble to get his parents back together, so in comparison to that, what Veronica's doing seems all too simple.

Then again, Veronica was comparing her life of waking up nine months from where she originally was to a movie about a teenager time travelling in a DeLorean all the way back to the fifties. But still, time travel was always such a complicated concept, so you couldn't blame her for thinking that all of this was too good to be true. If she didn't vomit on Heather at the party since she wouldn't be there in the first place, then there'd be no reason to go to JD's in a drunken state, sleep with him and go to Heather's place the next day and accidentally kill her by poisoning her with drano. Is this really all it would take? What if JD goes over to Heather's house and kills her himself? She certainly wouldn't put it past the boy to do that after everything else he's done. She just doesn't want anyone to die. That's all she wants, she doesn't care how shitty Heather, Kurt, Ram and JD treated her, she just doesn't want anyone to die.

A local pharmacy catches Veronica's eyes and she stops walking, her thoughts quieting down for a moment. Her eyes glanced down to her hand bag and back over to the pharmacy. She hasn't been getting sleep in awhile and she's been jumpy more and more lately and her old medicine could really help. Just this once. Veronica crossed the street and wrote down her fake prescription. She's gotten them enough times from her old therapist to know how they were written, so replicating it wasn't much of a difficult task. She entered the small store and approached the front counter, the woman giving her a smile and greeting her which Veronica tried her best to return before handing her the fake prescription. The brunette ignored the guilt she felt when her heart jumped in joy as the woman didn't even bother giving it a second glance before going to get the medicine Veronica needed. 

This was really doing a lot of damage to her wallet and she practically got rid of her monthly allowance right there, but Veronica convinced herself that it would be worth it as she thanked the woman and left the store after paying and getting her medication. This was a temporary fix, Veronica thought. She knew her limits and she'd only be using them when things got too much, that's all. Veronica sighed, walking home faster as she longed for the feeling of finally getting her thoughts to quiet down.


	7. How About Prescriptions?

Veronica stared at her ceiling, listening to the beating of her own heart as she listened to the buzzing in her head. They didn't stop talking, they wouldn't stop talking and shouting and screaming in her head, yet Veronica wondered why she wasn't as bothered. They were all still as loud as ever, but they weren't as bothersome. The pills weren't taking the same effect like how her old medication did, but at this point, Veronica was just glad to feel calm instead of on edge because of how loud everything was. "Stop lying there like that, you're making this more boring than it should be." Veronica decided to ignore the presence beside her. "You were way more fun when you were all jumpy and twitchy. Come on, Veronica, don't be such a pillowcase and talk to me. I am your best friend after all." The brunette simply sighed and turned to her right to see Heather Chandler in her robe, sitting by her desk and giving her a smirk, her eyes dull and grey while her lips were stained with blue.

"Finally. I knew you couldn't avoid me forever." Chandler said, satisfied that Veronica finally gave in to her. "Watch me." Veronica mumbled, turning around so her back would face Heather. "Aw, come on, don't be like that, Ronnie. The least you could do is keep me entertained." Chandler said and Veronica closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down. When she opened her eyes, she turned back to her desk which was now empty. It could we worse, at least it wasn't Kurt and Ram who were the most annoying of the bunch and god forbid it'd be JD who was the most haunting out of the three. She'd take an attention hungry Heather Chandler over them any day. At least today she was more tame and easy to get rid of. Usually Heather would go out of her way to make Veronica's life a living hell by constantly guilt tripping her and reminding her of her wrong doings and it would usually take a lot to make her go away, but she was very cooperative today.

A knock on the door caught Veronica's attention as she called out to the person behind the door to tell them to come in. "Hey, Veronica." The brunette smiled, sitting up from her bed to face Martha who walked into her room and sitting down next to Veronica on her bed. "Martha, what are you doing here? Not that I mind of course." Veronica asked the girl. "Well, you left school early and I got worried, so I came here to check if you were okay. Your mom let me in and I brought some cookies, but she told me to just leave them downstairs in the kitchen." Martha said which made Veronica laugh lightly. "I'll be lucky if there are any left when I go downstairs. My mom really loves your baking." Veronica said which made Martha laugh as well. "It's nothing compared to her cooking." Martha said sheepishly and Veronica nodded before letting herself fall back onto her bed. "Why'd you go home early?" Martha asked and the taller girl shrugged in reply.

"I just wasn't feeling well today and I knew I wouldn't be able to go through the rest of the day, so I just went home." She explained and Martha nodded before turning to her best friend with a concerned look. "You've been pretty down lately. Is anything bothering you? You can always tell me, you know?" Martha asked and Veronica paused before nodding. "Yeah, I do." And it was the truth, Veronica did know she could tell Martha anything, but her situation wasn't just anything. It'd be a miracle for her to tell anyone and not end up in a mental facility, getting someone to believe her would be a completely different thing. "Have your nightmares gone away yet?" Martha asked and Veronica shook her head. After their movie night, Veronica had stayed over and woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat and tears while panting from being out of breath. It really freaked Martha out since she was the one who woke Veronica in the first place cause she was crying and talking in her sleep.

"You never told me what they were about, only that they've been going on for awhile." Martha said and Veronica frowned, trying to find the right words to say to explain her situation without giving away too much and worrying Martha any further. "Things have just been really stressful lately and I've got a lot on my mind, so I guess it's my brain's way of getting back at me from overworking it so much." Veronica said jokingly, but her words didn't seem to soothe her friend's worry. "I'll be okay. They're just dreams, they can't hurt me." Veronica said, reaching over to hold Martha's hand to comfort the girl who nodded hesitantly. "Have you ever thought of going to someone about them? Especially since they're such a constant thing to you now." Martha asked which made Veronica hum in thought. In the other world she had, but how was she supposed to go to someone for trauma on something that never happened?

"I don't think there's any need. It'll probably pass over in a few weeks, so there won't be any point in wasting money for it." Veronica said which only made Martha's frown deepen. "Well, if you say so... But if it gets too much, promise me you'll get some form of help." Martha said and Veronica looked over to her friend and for a moment, she wondered if she was hallucinating again since her Martha used to give her the same looks as well, but after blinking a few times, she figured out that in any universe or timeline, Martha would always be a caring soul. "Okay. I promise." Veronica said and Martha sighed, relieved that Veronica had agreed before sending the girl a smile. "What do you say we have a movie night to get your mind off of things?" She asked, making Veronica gasp and sit up in shock. "On a school night? Who are you and what have you done with Martha?" Veronica asked which made her friend laugh. "It'll be just this once. Besides, you look like you need some cheering up." Martha said and Veronica smiled, glad to see that Martha was still the same. 

The next day, Veronica was at her locker getting a few things while her mind drifted off. It was the first time in awhile that she had managed to sleep without constantly waking up in the middle of the night. That didn't make her sleep comfortable by any means, but it was sleep nonetheless. Just when she thought she could let her shoulders relax for once though, Martha came up next to her with a big grin on her face and a piece of paper in her hands. "Veronica, look!" She said in an excited tone which made Veronica smile as she took the paper Martha was giving her and read it over. After reading the first sentence, Veronica's face paled and suddenly, everything felt like it was spinning. "Ram invited me to his homecoming party! This proves he's been thinking about me!" Martha said, practically jumping up and down from joy. Veronica gripped the paper tightly and held it close to her face to make sure she wasn't making things up again.

They printed it. They god damn printed the letter. In that moment, Veronica cursed technology, not caring if the world was advancing because right now, it was really kicking her in the ass. How cruel did the Heathers have to be? What did Martha ever do to them? They really went in to put the extra effort just to embarrass her and for what? "Martha, are you sure it's a good idea to go?" Veronica asked while focusing on trying to not make the shaking of her hands too obvious. Not sensing the taller girl's distress, Martha grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! I've been waiting for this moment since first grade! This is finally my chance to be with Ram." No, Ram was a garbage person who was only good at throwing a ball and mistaking no for yes. "But what about movie night?" Veronica asked, the desperation evident in her voice, trying to find any reason for Martha to not go to that party. "Well, we already had movie night yesterday. I thought it'd be fun to just go out on the weekend for once. You know, finally be a teenager?" Martha asked.

It was only then did Martha realize how her friend was reacting. She frowned after seeing Veronica be so upset at this. "I thought you'd be happy for me. You're always telling me that I should learn to let loose and just let myself do what I want." Martha said in a sad tone which only made Veronica panic even more. "Of course I'm happy for you!" Veronica quickly defended, but Martha was unconvinced. "You don't seem like it." Martha said dejectedly, taking back the letter from Veronica and smoothing it out since it was crumpled from how hard Veronica was gripping it while avoiding her eyes. "Martha, it's not like that, I just-" Veronica very rarely sees her friend ever get upset, so the uneasy feeling inside of her increased when Martha cut her off. "I have to go to class." Veronica watched with wide eyes as Martha walked away, her breathing become ragged as the thoughts in her head started screaming again.

She doesn't know if it was just her mind playing tricks on her again or what, but she could feel everyone's stares on her and all Veronica needed to do was get away from the prying eyes and the shouting. Forcing herself to walk, Veronica made her way to the one place her mind could think of in that moment which was the girl's bathroom. Her hands gripped the sink as she tried to focus on her breathing, closing her eyes and counting to ten like her old therapist told her to. It wasn't enough. She knew it, it was too good to be true. Not being part of the Heathers wasn't going to be enough, of course fate decided to just screw her over like that. Why did she think this would be easy? After all, she is responsible for the death of four of her classmates. No, it wasn't her fault, none of it was her fault, she had to remind herself of that. "Looks like I'll get to see Dumptruck take a swing at the old pinata after all." The snarky voice of Heather Chandler met Veronica's ears and she didn't even dare to open her eyes.

"Ew, Dumptruck? Gross, I don't even know why that pig was at my party." God, no. If Ram was here, then that could only mean, "Maybe she was there to give you some of her cooties." It was silent for a second before the two groaned at the same time before cackling at the thought. Why? She could've handled it if it was just Heather, but why the three of them at the same time? "What's wrong, Veronica? Afraid your little friend's gonna get hurt? It's a pity, really. You won't even be there to save her this time." Heather Chandler said, her voice ringing in Veronica's head as she tried to control herself. "Shut up." She mumbled, trying her best to make them go away. "Or what? You gonna poison me?" Heather said followed by Kurt and Ram laughing. "That was so sick! Yo, if Veronica slept with Bo Diddley, you think she'd be up for sleeping with us?" Ram asked and Kurt made a noise of disapproval. "Nuh uh, no way, man. I don't want to get shot a second time." Veronica opened her eyes, thinking it would make them go away, but they were still there.

"Cat got your tongue? You're usually more feisty when we're here." Heather asked in a condescending way, but Veronica ignored her, opening and closing her eyes repeatedly in hopes that they'd go away. "Yeah, Veronica's hot when she's angry." Kurt said and Ram nodded in agreement. "I always knew she was a freak. Imagine what she's like in bed!" Ram exclaimed and the two laughed before punching it in. "Just shut up already." Veronica growled which only made Kurt and Ram grow more excited. How could they be so infuriating even when they're dead? "You have a lot of balls to insult the people you murdered, Ronnie. Or maybe you're not so different from your little boyfriend after all?" Heather asked and Veronica's eyes widened. No, no, no, no. She's just playing games with her head, none of this is real. Heather's just trying to get to her, she always does. But she can't take it anymore. The voices were growing louder by the second and those three certainly weren't helping.

Quickly, Veronica reached into her bag and took out her water bottle and antidepressants. She promised herself only to take one dose a day and she already took them earlier that day, but this was a different case. It was all so loud and it was hurting her head, it was only going to be this once. "Poor Veronica, resulting to drugs to help her solve her own problems. Maybe you should follow in Mac's footsteps and just chug all of those at once." Heather said and Veronica shook her head. "Shut up." She said more sternly as she downed the two capsules before gripping the edge of the sink. They weren't quieting down, they were still so loud. Veronica knows it takes a while before it sets in, but she couldn't wait that long. It felt like her head was going to explode from how busy it was. Desperate to make it go away, Veronica lifted her hand and started hitting it against her head. She wasn't thinking when she was doing it, it was like her body was moving on it's own and doing everything it can to make it stop hurting.

"Yo, look at Veronica go!" Ram said with laughter which was followed by Ram who then gasped. "Is there another ghost? What if she's being possessed?" Ram asked making Kurt laugh more. "That's so sick! What if the ghost is a babe?" Kurt asked excitedly and the two continued their antics, Veronica's patience running thin as their voices just added to the mess that was in her head. "Stop laughing!" Veronica exclaimed, her hand slamming onto the counter without meaning to. "What the hell is- Oh my god." Heather Duke watched with wide eyes as she exited her stall to see Veronica leaning over the sink while gripping her hair and hyperventilating. She was previously doing her daily purge when she heard someone walk in and start mumbling to themselves. It was really getting annoying and she couldn't even vomit in peace anymore, but she decided enough was enough when she heard them shout and slam something down. So she decided to get up and confront whoever it was disturbing her, but she certainly didn't expect her to see her "partner in crime" practically having a mental breakdown. 

"Veronica." Heather said in disbelief as Veronica abruptly turned around in shock, like she didn't even notice that someone else was in the room with her. The taller girl backed up against the wall while eyeing Duke cautiously, hear breathing was shallow as she narrowed her eyes, looking the girl up and down as if she was trying to find out her secrets. "Stop staring, it's weirding me out, Jesus." Duke said with a huff and her words seemed to ease whatever it was Veronica was thinking as she sighed as her back hit the wall, sliding down onto the floor after. This certainly wasn't a sight Duke was expecting to see that day. She didn't even expect to see Veronica since she didn't have any plans to cut class that day, but here they were. Duke's eyes went over to the sink to see a bottle of pills before looking back to Veronica who looked like she was on the verge of a meltdown on the girl's bathroom floor if she wasn't already which made Duke grimace when she thought about all the disgusting things on the bathroom's tiled floor where Veronica was sitting on at the moment. 

Then again, who was she to judge? She was literally in the same position as her only a few seconds ago, not to mention her hands were on the toilet which probably had way more germs than the floor. "...Are you okay or whatever?" Duke asked, slowly walking over to Veronica who didn't seem to hear her, and if she did, she didn't care to reply. The shorter girl jumped when Veronica hit her head out of nowhere and immediately, she backed off, not knowing if Veronica would hit her if she got too close, so she focused her attention somewhere else and went over to the sink. She grabbed the pill bottle, examining the label as her eyes widened, turning to look at the dazed girl in shock. Who would've thought Veronica Sawyer took antidepressants? This could be perfect information to give Heather Chandler and spreading the word about it would be easy. Did you hear? Veronica Sawyer's a druggie. She's such a depressed weirdo, I wonder what else she takes? Heather Duke could practically hear the whispers in the hall if the information was leaked. 

It'd be a good way to make Heather Chandler impressed, especially since she's been on her ass lately for skipping and being late. She could just leave the bathroom and give this to one of her friends at the yearbook committee and the news will spread like wildfire. The wicked grin of her face disappeared though once she caught sight of Veronica who was mumbling to herself while gasping for air as tears ran down her face. God, it was a pathetic sight to see. Of all the places to have a breakdown, Veronica really thought the girl's bathroom was the best place to have it. Despite what she was thinking, Heather ignored the memories flashing into her head when she found herself in a very similar position as Veronica. She also ignored the fact that this has also happened to her on multiple occasions, though most likely for different reasons. She couldn't even hear what Veronica was mumbling to herself about, plus her eyes were focused on one spot in the room as if someone else was there with them. 

Heather Duke is seriously considering if she should continue having Veronica as an asset after seeing her in such a weird state They had a deal. Veronica provides her an escape from any situation she wants and she provides her with protection. This, however, wasn't part of it. Duke never said anything about having to witness each other breaking down first hand and she didn't like the fact that she's witnessed it now either. But Veronica has helped her on multiple occasions without any questions asked and the poor thing probably didn't even realize she was still here. With a sigh of frustration, Heather Duke crouched down to Veronica's level, shoved the pills back into her bag before walking out of the girl's bathroom.


	8. They're Gonna Crush That Girl

Veronica waited anxiously for her best friend to arrive at her usual lunch table while ignoring the light jabs Heather Chandler would give her since she was sitting across from her. The pills finally took effect and helped calm things down, but she guesses that Heather Chandler stayed to compensate for leaving early yesterday. "God, I can't believe you're in those clothes again. I know you can't accessorize for shit, but you'd think you'd get a clue after all the time you've spent with us." Heather said with a roll of her eyes and Veronica was just about to quip back when Martha sat on the spot where Heather was sitting which made her disappear. "Hi, Veronica..." Martha greeted the girl with an awkward mumble while Veronica silently thanked her friend for making the nuisance that's been following her around for the past two periods go away. "Hey, Martha. Look, I just wanted to apologize if I made you feel like I didn't support you, especially when you were happy about something." Veronica said and Martha gave the girl across from her a smile.

"It's okay, Veronica. It's my fault, I'm the one who overreacted." Martha said which made Veronica shake her head. "Don't apologize for things that aren't your fault. You were upset at me and that's fine, but Martha, you need to know that I was just worried." Understatement of the century, Veronica thought to herself before focusing on her best friend who looked at her with a confused expression. "What do you mean?" She asked and Veronica sighed. "Martha, you know how we always try to see the good in people no matter how much bad they've done?" Veronica asked and Martha nodded in reply. "Well, that mindset is great and all, but sometimes we have to be a bit realistic." Veronica said, struggling to find the right words to use while her friend remained confused. "Go on..." Martha said and Veronica gulped, deciding to just bite the bullet and figure out how to deal with the consequences after. "Martha, don't you think it's a bit weird how only yesterday we were treated like the rest of the school that's considered on the bottom of the food chain, then all of a sudden, you get an invitation to a cool kid's party?" 

Martha pursed her lips and shifted her gaze down onto the table as she let Veronica's words sink in. The last thing Veronica wanted to do was hurt her friend and bring her hopes down, but this was really the only way Veronica could think of explaining why Martha shouldn't go to that party at that moment. "So... You think it's some sort of trick?" Oh, Veronica doesn't think, she knows because she's already lived through said trick. "Yes." Is what she says instead. "It's just really suspicious is all. I mean, these are the popular kids we're talking about. If they have any good in their heart, they're certainly not using it. It's too much of a risk and I don't want you getting hurt." Technically, Veronica wasn't lying. Everything she was saying was true, just a few details were being omitted, but what Martha doesn't know won't and can't hurt her. "I see where you're coming from, Veronica... But trick or no trick, I want to at least experience these things once." Martha said which now made Veronica the confused one.

"Experience what?" Veronica asked and Martha's usual bright smile reappeared on her face at the mere thought of the subject. "Being a regular teenager! This is the first party I've ever been invited to and I at least want to see if it's as good as movies make them out to be!" Martha explained, shocking Veronica in the process. "But didn't you hear what I just said? This could all just be some elaborate trick to make fun of you!" Veronica said, but Martha shook her head. "So? People get embarrassed at parties all the time! It's just part of the experience and I want to enjoy every bit of it." Martha said with a fond look on her face, but the concern didn't leave Veronica's body. "Martha..." She said and the girl turned to Veronica with a smile, taking her hand in a comforting way like how the taller girl did the same to her the night before. "Veronica, I know that I can be a bit naive at times, but I'm not stupid. I know my limits and I know when to quit, so if things get too much, I'll go." Martha said as Veronica analyzed her, trying to find any lie in her eyes, only to find none. "I'm stronger than you think, Ronnie." Martha said.

If it were any other time, Veronica would've let the topic go, but could literally be a matter of life and death. Noticing her hesitance, Martha let out a sigh and sent Veronica a look. "If you're really that worried about me, you could always come with, you know?" Martha said which made Veronica's eyes widen. Now that would be an even bigger problem. "W-What? Me? Go to a party? Martha, I'm not exactly the kind of person who goes to those things. In fact, neither of us are." She says this despite knowing how much fun she had at Kurt's party the first time if she just forgets the whole prank on Martha, vomiting on Heather and getting kicked out part. "I was gonna invite you to go anyway. You might as well come with if you're that concerned. There won't be any harm in doing so." Martha said leaving Veronica completely speechless because she really doesn't know what excuse to make in response to that. "Look, I'm going to that party even if you come with me or not." Martha said making Veronica stare at her in disbelief. "Don't you just want to stay in on Friday? Pop some jiffy pop and just have an unproblematic night?" 

Veronica was getting really desperate. That party was like the first domino that fell to cause everything in its path to fall. But Martha looked so happy in front of her right now. After all the events, she'd rarely see Martha smile like this anymore and she doesn't want to take that away, but she also can't let Heather Chandler or anyone else die. "What are you gonna do, Veronica? It's either let your little friend be the laughing stock of the school or kill me like the cold blooded murderer you are." Veronica focused her eyes on Martha despite seeing the girl in red right next to her with her peripherals, trying her best to not listen to her despite the shiver that ran down her spine after what she said. "We've been doing that every weekend for the past nine years! This is a once in a lifetime experience, it won't hurt to break routine for one night." Martha said and Veronica frowned before sighing. "There's no convincing you, is there?" The taller girl asked her friend who nodded proudly. Veronica might as well consider her options here.

It's either Martha goes to the party alone or she comes with her. The whole reason everything went wrong was because Martha came to the party and Veronica stopped the Heathers from pulling that stupid prank on her which then lead to Heather screaming at her and her throwing up on her and her getting kicked out of the Heathers. Then she goes and breaks into JD's house cause she's emotional and horny when drunk and then they go kill Heather Chandler. If she doesn't go, all of that could be avoided, the only problem was that no one would be there to save Martha from getting humiliated in front of the monsters of Westerberg High's social ladder. She could always wait for Martha to get back from the party at her house and offer emotional support to her after. But looking at her now, Veronica can't imagine how devastated Martha will be once she comes home after getting her hopes up so high. What kind of best friend would she be if she lets Martha walk into a cage of lions when she knows she's going to get mauled? But if she goes, everything could go back to normal and usually in these sort of things, normal would be good, but normal was the last thing Veronica wanted.

She can't just let Martha walk in blindly. Fate's already fucked her over by making the Heathers print out that stupid letter, how was she supposed to trust it by letting Martha go in by herself? No, she wasn't going to save just Heather, Kurt, Ram and JD, she was going to save everyone even if it isn't in the literal sense. Veronica just needed to take extra precaution to make sure that nothing went wrong. Fate can go fuck itself in the ass, Veronica's taking the wheel this time. "Alright. You want to go and I'm not stopping you. But I'm going as well." Veronica said and Martha's face broke out into a grin at the words. "This is going to be the best party of our lives!" Martha said with a squeal which made Veronica smile, happy to see her friend genuinely happy. "Hopefully it won't be your last party." Veronica went stiff as she turned her head over to Heather and lightly narrowed her eyes at her while the girl shrugged. "Forgot I was here, huh? Whatever, I was just saying what was on your mind. They are gonna eat you two up alive there, especially since you don't have me to back you up this time." Heather said with a smirk making Veronica rub her eyes before focusing back on Martha. 

"Oh! I should bring a gift, it's only fitting since Ram will be letting us in his home. My mom has sparkling cider, do you think that'd be good?" Martha asked and Veronica gave her a shaky smile. "I think we should go for a more adult approach." Veronica said making Martha gasp. "Do you mean... Alcohol?" Martha asked, saying the last word in a whisper as if saying it out loud would immediately alert the police. "Yes." Veronica said with a laugh, forgetting how innocent Martha was for a second. "But we're underage." Martha said with a frown. "We won't be drinking any of it, we'll just be giving it to Ram who'll probably drink it instead." Another thing Veronica needed to remind herself of. No matter how much fun it was the first time, she was not going to let herself get carried away this time, which meant not drinking a single drop of alcohol. "If you say so... But how are we going to get any?" Martha asked and Veronica smiled at the girl. "Leave it up to me, I know where to get some." Usually Veronica would just rely on the Heathers for alcohol, but she also had some tricks up her sleeve.

The night of the party came and Veronica waited in front of her house for Martha and her mom to pick her up. She got some vodka from her parent's stash (which they think she doesn't know about) and has it hidden in her bag so Martha doesn't accidentally get spat on by Ram cause her gift didn't have any alcohol in it. Veronica has the night all carefully planned out. Her and Martha are going to arrive earlier than she did the first go so Veronica will have time to sneak around and find the pinata and either hide or destroy it so they have nothing on Martha. "You really think that's going to work?" Heather asked and Veronica shrugged. "It has to." Veronica replied which made the girl next to her scoff. "That's not really a guaranteed answer." She said and Veronica let her head fall in irritation before turning to the girl in the red robe. "I don't really have any other answer right now." She said which made the other girl roll her eyes. "Do you even have a backup plan in case your first plan doesn't work?" Heather asked.

"I don't see you coming up with any other idea." Veronica said in an exasperated tone. "And why would I help you sabotage the one thing that'll bring me some entertainment tonight?" Heather asked and Veronica sighed, wishing that the girl would just go away when the familiar horn of Mrs. Dunnstock's mini cooper met her ears. Veronica blinked to see an empty spot next to her before snapping out of her thoughts and getting up from the steps of her front porch and approaching the car. "Ronnie, it's so nice to see you." Mrs. Dunnstock, or Judy, said and Veronica smiled as she got into the passenger seat. Martha always preferred riding in the back seat for some reason, saying it was more comfortable and less scary than the front. "Nice to see you too, Judy." Veronica said, giving the woman a quick hug before she started driving. "Are you excited for the party?" Judy asked, glancing over at Veronica and giving her a smile. "Color me stoked." Veronica said with an awkward laugh. "I can't believe it! Our first party!" Martha said. "She's been talking about it non stop since she got the invitation." Judy explained with a smile.

"I can't help it! This is our chance to finally be regular teenagers." Martha said which made Veronica laugh before turning to her friend. "We can be regular teenagers and not go out to parties, you know?" She asked and Martha smiled in response. "Yeah, but it's gonna be just like in those movies! There's no way I'm passing this up." Well, she tried at least. After a few minutes of talking and driving, they finally arrived at Ram's house which was filled with drunk and sweaty high school kids while music was blasting from the inside. "Have fun you two and stay safe!" Judy said, waving through the window of the car as Veronica and Martha entered the house. They got a few stares as they walked in, but most of the people there just went along with their business and didn't give them a second glance which Veronica was thankful for. "We should get some drinks! I think I see some punch over there." Martha said, pointing over to the kitchen where a bunch of kids were getting drinks from and Veronica winced at the sight.

"You know, I don't think that's a good idea." Veronica said, pulling Martha away so she couldn't see the obviously spiked punch bowl. "We should just stick with water or soda for tonight, but make sure you don't take any drinks offered to you by anyone other than me." Veronica said, holding Martha's shoulders and giving her a stern look as the girl sent her a nod of understanding. "Alright. I should find Ram and thank him for inviting us." Martha said with bright eyes and Veronica nodded her eyes before reaching into her bag and taking out the vodka bottle. "Here, give this to him. I think he'll appreciate it." Veronica said, handing the bottle to Martha who handled it with care. "Okay. Thanks, Ronnie!" Martha said and Veronica nodded. "Don't go too far in case you get lost." Ronnie said, waving at the girl as she walked away to find Ram. She settled where she was, watching the girl to make sure nothing happened when she finally found Ram.

It looked like Ram was confused and drunk like he was the first time, but as he took the bottle and took a swig, he cheered, wrapping his arm around Martha's shoulders and shaking her before letting her go and stumbling off while drinking the vodka straight from the bottle. Martha ran back to Veronica with wide and bright eyes and the taller girl let out a sigh of relief, happy that she changed at least one thing so far tonight. She also didn't even stop by the seven-eleven so she didn't have any interaction with JD and as far as the boy knows, Veronica is just a complete stranger and it should stay that way. "Did you see that, Veronica? Ram wrapped his arm around me!" Martha said excitedly and Veronica nodded. This would be the only time she'd be happy about Ram putting his hands anywhere near someone she's close to. "That's so great!" Veronica says, trying her best to match Martha's enthusiasm, but she still had a lot on her mind. "I'm so glad I came!" Martha squealed and Veronica nodded. "Hey, why don't you explore around. I have a friend that's here and I need to talk to them." Veronica said and Martha nodded. "Sure! Go on ahead!" Martha said, still giddy from her interaction with Ram. 

"Okay, I'll meet you back here in a few." Veronica said and Martha waved at her as she walked off, but a thought crossed Veronica's mind which made her go back to Martha. "And please, be careful." Veronica said and Martha smiled and nodded at her. Veronica gave the girl another glance before leaving. She had a pinata to destroy.


	9. The World Doesn't Owe You A Cent

Veronica looked throughout the whole house, every single door she saw, she opened it to try and find the one thing that could change the timeline. It didn't matter how many naked bodies she had to see with each opened door, some sacrifices were need to be made for the greater good. But god damn, how hard was it to find a god damn pinata? If Veronica was a meathead, where would she hide a pinata? Honestly, that question could be answered in many ways and Veronica feels like she's running out of luck cause it's almost been fifteen minutes and she still hasn't found it. She opened the door to an empty room and entered it, shutting the door behind her so no one would wonder why she was all alone in an empty room and possibly try something. The last thing Veronica needed was to fend off some hormonal teenager who didn't take no for an answer. 

Upon further inspection, Veronica found out that she was in Ram's room. It was very fitting considering all the football related merchandise, the trophies and the multiple posters of half naked women on the walls. Veronica checked everywhere from the closet to the bathroom, but after checking under the bed, Veronica finally found what she's been looking for. Satisfied, Veronica took out the pinata which was yet to be decorated with items that were supposed to make it resemble her best friend who was probably having the time of her life downstairs. The brunette was going to make sure that Martha would continue to have the best night of her life too. "Fuck you, fate." Veronica mumbled as she threw the pinata onto the ground and started stomping on it to destroy it. Once it was all ripped up, Veronica gave it one last kick and in an instant, it felt like the world started spinning. Gripping her head, Veronica groaned, letting herself fall to the floor.

Then just like that, the pain went away. Veronica opened her eyes and lifted her head, looking around the room that seemed stable. What happened? Not wanting to waste time, Veronica forced herself to get up and quickly leave the room in case anybody would catch her. Veronica ran back down stairs and, thankfully, didn't have a hard time finding Martha who was dancing with one of the stoners. She was very shy in doing so, but the stoners seemed to be enjoying it and the large smile on Martha's face was enough for the worry in Veronica's chest to die down. "Martha!" Veronica said and the girl's eyes lit up as she turned to her friend. "Ronnie! Hey!" Martha said and the two started talking about the party and how Martha was having a great time when Heather Chandler suddenly made herself known to everyone there. "Okay, Westerburgers, it's time to celebrate our upcoming victory over the Razorbacks by whacking apart their mascot." Heather Chandler announced and the crowd cheered in agreement. "We need a volunteer to take the first swing at the pinata." Heather Mac said, entering the room holding a bat and a blindfold.

"Martha Dunnstock!" Heather Chandler called out and all eyes turned to Martha whose eyes widened in surprise. "I think you should do the honors." Chandler said with a smirk and Veronica had to blink a few times to make sure she was real. Martha turned to Veronica who nodded hesitantly. If she was right, things would be different. "I don't really know this game..." Martha said softly as she walked to the middle of the room where the two Heathers were. "Let's show this girl some Westerberg spirit!" Mac exclaimed with her usual never ending energy as she tied the blindfold around Martha's eyes and handing her the bat. "Martha! Martha! Martha!" Mac started chanting which made the crowd do the same. Veronica stepped forward in case she had to interfere when Duke entered looking terrified.

"Heather, where's the pinata?" Heather growled while the other students continued chanting, not realizing what was going wrong. "I-It wasn't there." Duke mumbled. "Speak up!" Heather shouted which made the chanting die down. "T-The pinata. It wasn't there." Heather said, her voice louder but still shaky. "What do you mean it wasn't there? You were the one who hid it, how could it just disappear?" Heather Chandler asked, stepping forward in a menacing way which made Duke step back fearfully. Oh God. What was happening? This wasn't supposed to happen. Veronica turned to Martha who, by now, had already lifted her blindfold to watch what was happening along with everyone else at the party. "Well, it was there!" Heather exclaimed which made Chandler narrow her eyes and glare at the shorter girl. 

"So was it there or was it not there? Get your story straight, Heather!" Chandler shouted which caused whispering to erupt from the crowd, only making the girl in green more anxious than she already was. "It was there, but..." Heather trailed off, looking down and fiddling with her hands from nervousness. "What? Just spit it out!" Heather shouted. "It was destroyed! Somebody found it and destroyed it!" Heather Duke exclaimed, finally looking into Heather's eyes which were blazing with fury. "You had one job!" Heather said, pushing Duke to the ground which made the crowd gasp. Veronica's eyes widened as she watched everything go down. Why? This shouldn't be happening. "You can't save them all." A shiver ran down Veronica's spine as she felt her blood run cold. Hesitantly, she turned to her right to see the roughed up boy in a trench coat with a bomb attached to his torso right next to her. 

"All you had to do was bring the pinata down, but you couldn't even do that! This is why I wonder why I've kept you around for as long as I did!" Heather shouted in Heather's face, pulling her up from the collar of her jacket which made the girl stagger. "You saved Martha. That's what you wanted, right?" Veronica shut her eyes, trying to control her breathing as she felt cold and familiar arms wrap themselves around her. "So what if Heather Duke is taking the brunt of the blow. Some sacrifices must be made for the greater good." Veronica opened her eyes just as Duke vomited on Heather's shoes, the girl in red screeching while the crowd groaned in disgust. "I raise you up from nothing! And what's my thanks? I get paid in puke!" Heather shouted as Duke struggled to keep herself up. "You can't keep your soul clean when it's already tainted, Veronica." JD said, his words ringing in her head. "I know who I'm sitting with on Monday... Do you?" Heather Chandler asked and Heather's eyes widened, eyes darting around the room to people who refused to meet her eye. Even Mac looked away when Duke tried pleading with her eyes.

Realizing she was alone, Duke ran out of Ram's house and everyone fell silent. "Okay, party people!" Heather shouted after a few seconds of silence passed. "Where's the goddamn keg?" She shouted and just like that, the energy of the room came back and everyone cheered, resuming what they were previously doing. "Veronica?" Martha asked in concern when she realized how dazed the girl looked. "Are you okay?" She asked and Veronica shook her head, looking over her shoulder and expecting to see those dark eyes, only to see a bunch of teens dancing around. She swears that she could see his figure in his peripherals, but each time she checked, there was no one. She turned back to Martha who stared at her with a concerned expression before gathering her thoughts. "Martha, I think I'm gonna head out early." Veronica said which made her friend frown. "Okay... I can ask Ram if I can use his phone so I can call my mom-"

"No, no. There's no need. You can stay here. I'm just really worn out and I just feel like going to sleep." Veronica answered truthfully, a faraway look in her eyes as she focused on the buzzing. "But how will you get home?" Martha asked and Veronica shook her head. "I'll just walk." Veronica said. "In the dark? It's a twenty minute walk." She asked with wide eyes and Veronica nodded. "I'll be careful, I promise." Veronica said and Martha hesitated before nodding. Veronica bid her friend goodbye before leaving the party. She walked down the street, not really paying attention to where she was going because her thoughts were just so loud. Why? She's been asking herself that question since Heather walked out of Ram's house. If it wasn't Veronica, why did it have to be her? Why did Heather have to gain her misfortune instead? Was the universe just that cruel? 

Maybe Heather was right. Maybe she should've had a backup plan. How stupid did she have to be to assume that everything would go right? This was fate and time she was talking about, none of this was going to be simple. She was such a fool to think that way. What comes next? If Heather is now in her place, would she be stumbling through the streets until she reached JD's house to sleep with him? Just the thought made her cringe. As far as she knew, Duke and JD have never even talked before, so she should be safe. Then again, she also thought it would be safe to just destroy the pinata, but look where she was now. Oh god, what if Duke really did go to JD's house? That would be a nightmare to try and stop. But this time, she wasn't going to take any risks. Just when Veronica was about to start sprinting to JD's house, she stopped when the sound of crying reached her ears. Veronica followed the sound of the crying until she was standing in front of a girl who was sitting against a tree, head buried in her hands as she cried to herself.

"Heather?" Veronica asked and the girl's head shot up at the sound of her name, squinting her eyes to see through her tears to figure out who it was. "Leave me alone." Heather said weakly, letting her face fall between her chest and legs which were held closely to her body. "Heather." Veronica repeated, crouching down to Heather's level so she could see her more clearly since it was dark out. "I said leave me alone, Veronica! I'm not exactly in need of your stupid forgeries right now." Heather said, wiping at her eyes. "Yeah, but you look like you're in need of some company at least." Veronica said and Heather looked up at the girl with a furrowed eyebrows. Veronica waited for the girl to tell her off, but instead, she simply rolled her eyes and continued wiping at her tears. "You know," Veronica spoke up after a moment of silence, "You shouldn't really be sitting on the grass. Who knows what type of shit is on there. And I mean literal shit." Veronica said, trying to get a laugh out of the girl but only managed a scoff.

"After vomiting on the most powerful girl's shoes, sitting on dirt and shit is the least of my problems." Heather said with a shaky voice. "Yeah, you're probably right, but still. Crying on the ground in front of some stranger's house isn't really how you should be ending your Friday night." Veronica said and Heather looked down, continuing to wipe her eyes. "At least cry somewhere clean and warm. It's freezing out here." Veronica said softly, getting up and extending a hand to the girl. "My house is a forty-five minute walk, I am not gonna wait that long." Heather said half jokingly. "Well, my house is only fifteen minutes away and you can still cry while we walk. How about it?" Veronica asked and Heather looked up at her for a second before nodding, taking the hand of the girl who pulled her up and helped her steady herself. The smaller girl struggled walking properly since she was still pretty drunk, so Veronica did her best to make sure she didn't trip and fall. They were quiet, the only sound coming from either of them was Heather's sniffling. It wasn't like Veronica could really talk since her thoughts were on full force again, so they just left it that way.

Once they reached Veronica's house, Veronica called out to her mother. "Mom! A friend's staying over tonight!" Veronica called out as they walked up the stairs which made Duke look up at her in confusion. "Staying over?" She asked and Veronica gave her a look. "I can't drive, so unless you're planning on walking back once you're done..." Veronica said and Duke just looked down, not knowing how to respond. "Is it a boy, Veronica?" Veronica's mom called out which made the girl roll her eyes playfully. "No, mom. She's very much a girl." Veronica called out as they entered her room. Duke snickered which made the taller girl turn to her with a look. "What? Veronica Sawyer's never brought a boy home before?" Duke asked and Veronica scoffed. "I'm not exactly the type of person to bring guys over to hookup on a Friday night." The girl said as she rummaged through her drawers. "Don't tell me you're a virgin even though you're a senior." Duke said with a chuckle.

Veronica opened her mouth to answer until she realized she didn't really know how considering her circumstances. "Technically, I am?" Veronica said, her words sounding more like a question than a statement. "Wait, what do you mean by technically?" Duke asked with a laugh and Veronica had half a mind to end the conversation there, but if going through this interrogation meant getting Duke's mind off of that night's events, then she could endure it for awhile. "It was awhile ago and it was probably the best and worse thing I've ever did, but I'd rather forget about it now." Veronica said, trying to be as truthful yet vague as possible as she walked over to Duke with clothes in her hand. "Wow, how bad was the guy?" Duke asked with a laugh. "Oh, the sex was good, but I can't say the same for his... Personality." Veronica said, returning the laugh which slowly became softer and softer at the good memories she had with JD. "Who would've thought someone as nerdy as you could get some." Duke said as Veronica handed her the clothes.

"What are these for?" Duke asked in confusion as she gazed at the clothes in her hands. "Something for you to get changed in. Your clothes are all dirty and it might be uncomfortable if you sleep in that." Veronica should know since there were times where she found herself passing out in her lipstick gestapo getup. "Oh... Thanks." Heather said and Veronica nodded, going back to her drawer and taking out her own clothes. "You can change here, I'll go change in the bathroom." Veronica said and Duke nodded at her as she left. Changing gave Veronica some time to think and she was still deciding whether that was a good or a bad thing. What now? Duke's now in her place, but at least she's not with JD. What does this mean for Heather Chandler? It was all so confusing and Veronica just wanted to shut all her thoughts of even for a second. She left the bathroom and went back to her room, shocked to see a crying Heather Duke who was now in her clothes sitting on her bed. "Hey, what's wrong." Veronica said in worry as she went over to sit next to the girl.

"None of your business." Heather said angrily as she looked away from Veronica, not wanting the girl or anyone in general seeing her in such a weak state. "Heather, I understand-" Veronica should've chosen a better set of words to say than that. "Shut up, Veronica! How? How could you of all people understand what I'm going through? You don't know how it feels to be on top of the world only for you to fall of because of something that isn't even your fault!" Duke said angrily and Veronica flinched at the volume of her voice, her words practically stabbing her in the heart. "I worked so hard to get where I was. I had to change my appearance, my personality, I had to change almost everything about me just to stay on the top and nothing I do is ever appreciated or noticed. But now I'm going to be dead in thirty hours all cause some asshole decided to destroy that stupid pinata." Heather cried and Veronica looked down, feeling more guilty than she already was.

She never meant for this to happen. She just wanted to stop Martha from getting hurt while stopping anything that could potentially cause the death of Heather Chandler. Veronica didn't think anyone else would be affected, but she was wrong. That was her problem, she just doesn't think. She didn't think the first time, so why should she now? Everything is going wrong, it's not supposed to be like this, everything was supposed to be good. "This can't be happening to me." Duke said barely over a whisper as her sobs filled the room. Now that she thinks about it, Veronica has never seen Heather be so broken. She always kept this strong and brave front around her and the other Heathers that she didn't even know how to comfort the girl next to her. She was supposed to be one of her best friends and it feels like she's already failed her twice. Hesitantly, Veronica lifted her hand and paused for a second before resting her hand on Duke's shoulder. The girl tensed at the touch and Veronica was about to apologize and pull away when Duke leaned into her.

With a sigh, Veronica wrapped her arms around Duke, rubbing her arm comfortingly as the girl cried. It made the taller girl wonder how many times Duke has actually cried like this on her own which only made Veronica feel even worse as a person who was supposed to be this girl's friend. Her thoughts kept running and running and running that she didn't even notice Duke start to calm down. It was only when Duke lifted her head from the girl's shoulder did she snap out of her thoughts. "Are you gonna be okay?" Veronica asked, looking down at Duke who stared up at her, searching her eyes for something, Veronica just didn't know what. "Heather?" Veronica asked and Duke sighed. "Shut up." 

Everything went quiet. Not just the room, but Veronica's mind because how was she supposed to think when Heather had her lips on hers? She was frozen in her place. Out of everything that happened that night, this is the last thing Veronica would've expected. A Heather was kissing her in her room in the middle of the night after she potentially shifted a timeline. Veronica doesn't know why this was more shocking than literal time travel to her. When she figured out she went back in time, she simply accepted it and went on to form a plan, but now, Heather was kissing her and Veronica was wondering if she was in some crazy dream. Not knowing what to do, Veronica placed her hands on the smaller girl's shoulders and pushed her away.

"H-Heather, what are you-" She was cut off when Heather climbed onto her lap which made Veronica's mind start running again. "I said shut up." Heather said in an annoyed tone as she placed a finger on Veronica's mouth. "You said that you're technically a virgin, right?" Heather asked and all Veronica could do was nod because she couldn't focus. "What do you say you officially lose it to a Heather while I'm still considered as one." Veronica started stammering as she tried to form anything resembling words. This was crazy, now things really weren't how they're supposed to be. Sleeping with Heather Duke? The universe must really have it out for her to bring her to this point. Was this even an option. Once again, Veronica's thoughts became louder, practically ringing in her ears at this point. She just wanted them to stop and be quiet so she could think. There was only one way to do that at that point. 

Veronica grabbed the back of Heather's neck and pulled her down, sighing in relief when her thoughts instantly became quiet the moment their lips touched.

She'll deal with the aftermath later.


	10. A World Without Heather

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw: D-Slur

Veronica doesn't know how long it's been, all she knows is that she's been staring at the ceiling the moment Heather fell asleep which was a while ago. She couldn't get her sleeping pills since Heather was laying on top of her and part of her still can't comprehend the fact that the two slept with each other, so moving would be useless for her either way. Where does she go from here? What originally happened was she got kicked out of the Heathers and she slept with JD, she never expected for Heather to be kicked out and for the girl to sleep with her. This is beyond what she ever expected since being given her second chance, but now, she's more lost than ever. "Well, well, look at you. Sleeping with a Heather. Looks like you've made it in life." Veronica rolled her eyes and lifted her head to glare at Chandler who was at her usual spot by her desk. "Don't you have anything better to do? And stop staring at me, I'm naked for fuck's sake." Veronica hissed, raising her blanket to cover more of herself which made Duke stir a bit.

"Oh, don't cover up on my behalf. So, how does it feel sleeping with someone that's not a homicidal maniac?" Chandler asked and Veronica let her head fall back onto her pillow with a sigh. "Is there even a way to feel about this? Not only did I sleep with Heather, but I slept with a girl. I don't even swing that way..." Veronica said with a frown. "I sense a but coming." Heather said nonchalantly as she examined her nails. "But I don't know. I've never really thought about girls that way before because I didn't think I had to." She said with a shrug. "I mean, it was good-" Veronica stopped when Heather raised her hand. "I don't need to hear the details. I was here for most of that and judging from how loud you two were, I can tell it was good by your standards." Heather said with an eye roll. "Of course even the almighty Heather Chandler has higher standards than most when it comes to sex." Veronica said.

"Hm, I don't know if my experiences can compare to yours. I'm not a carpet muncher, after all." Heather said in a condescending tone which made the brunette scoff. "Don't call me that." She mumbled. "I was just saying what you were thinking." Heather retorted with a shrug which made Veronica sigh, knowing that the girl was right. "Well, no time to talk. Your little boy- oh sorry- girl toy over there is starting to wake up. Maybe if you're lucky you can have a fourth round." And just like that, Chandler disappeared from Veronica's desk. Looking down, Veronica realized that Heather was starting to hyperventilate as tears flowed down her eyes. "Heather." Veronica said, lightly shaking Heather by her arm which only seemed to make Heather panic even more. "Heather, wake up." Veronica said, sitting up and shaking Heather again which caused the girl to sit up and scream. Veronica flinched and silently thanked whatever god there was that her parents were heavy sleepers.

"It was just a dream. It was just a dream." Heather mumbled repeatedly to herself as she got up from the bed and started grabbing her clothes which were folded neatly on Veronica's desk. "Heather-" Veronica called out as she was starting to get dressed as well, but Heather cut her off. "No offense, Veronica, but I'm not one for cuddling after sex." Heather said in a frustrated tone as she started buttoning up her blouse. "What? No, I'm not talking about that. Are you alright?" Veronica asked, getting up and placing her hand on Heather's shoulder which made her turn around. "No! Of course I'm not, Veronica! I just got kicked out from the Heathers, I slept with a girl and now I have to kiss Heather's ass to make sure I'm not stuffed and mounted the moment I enter Westerberg on Monday." Heather said, turning back around to grab her blazer and put it on. "Okay, calm down, I just want to help." Veronica said, stepping back from Heather to give the girl some space. "How? How could you possibly help me?" Heather asked in a frustrated tone. 

"I could come with!" Veronica said without thinking. She didn't even get the chance to think because Duke started glaring at her which practically scared her thoughts away. "Don't think that just because we slept together, we're automatically girlfriends or something." Duke said angrily which made Veronica furrow her eyebrows at the words. "Of course I'm not thinking like that, I'm just as confused as you are here." Veronica said defensively and Duke looked away, crossing her arms in the process. "There's nothing to be confused about because I'm not a dyke." Heather said as she turned around and walked out of Veronica's room. It took a second for the taller girl to process, but she quickly followed Duke out of the door cause they certainly weren't done talking yet. "I'm not exactly a lesbian either, Heather." Veronica said and Duke stopped to turn around and face her. "You slept with me." Duke said as if that was the answer to their problem.

"Excuse me, you kissed me first." Veronica countered with narrowed eyes, but Duke wasn't going to let her pride down. "I was drunk and emotional, I wasn't in the right state of mind. But as far as I know, you were completely sober so I don't think I should believe that." Heather said and Veronica rolled her eyes, quickly catching up when the girl started walking down the stairs. "Whatever, lesbian or straight or whatever, I'm coming with you." Veronica said and Duke turned to glare at the girl. "And why would I let you do that? We're not even friends." Duke said in an annoyed tone. "Look, I'm offering you emotional support here, but if you really think that you can face Heather Chandler on your own, then be my guest and leave." Veronica said and Duke thought about her words, shifting on her feet as she looked down to think to herself for a moment. "Fine. But if for one second you start to think-" Veronica cut off Heather mid rant because she really didn't want to hear any of that right now. "I get it, you're not a lesbian, this means nothing, whatever. I'm just trying to be nice." Veronica said which made Heather glare at her.

"Well next time, don't be." Heather said and Veronica rolled her eyes. "Duly noted." Veronica said before facing the girl. "You better change into something more presentable, your clothes are still messed up from last night." Veronica said and the shorter girl looked down to see that her clothes were covered in dirt and very wrinkled. "As if I'm going to wear your clothes to Heather's house after seeing your fashion taste." Heather said as she followed Veronica back up the stairs. "Stop being dramatic, it's not that bad." Veronica said as they entered her room. "I've seen what you wear at school, there is no way I'll be caught dead wearing what you wear." Heather said, but Veronica ignored her as she rummaged through her drawers for something for Heather. Part of her missed ghost Heather Chandler now, but then she realized that anything is better than Heather Chandler complaining and criticizing you about every single thing all day. "Here." Veronica said, shoving some clothes in the other girl's hand. 

"Good enough for you?" Veronica asked as Heather examined the clothes that were given to her. It was a very simple outfit which was just jeans, a plain shirt and a cardigan. "They're disgustingly basic, but it'll have to do for now." Heather said with a shrug and Veronica rolled her eyes. "Bathroom's the room right next to mine on the left." Veronica said and Heather nodded before leaving the room. Now that Veronica was alone, the thoughts and voices started coming back into her mind. How was she supposed to play this out now? After what happened that night, Veronica learned to not just settle for one plan because it most likely will go wrong. So her and Heather are supposed to go to Heather's house and if things were mostly the same, Heather would ask for a prairie oyster to cure her hangover and all Veronica had to do was make sure they didn't accidentally give her drano.

But how was this supposed to go wrong? Fate has already proved to her twice that things aren't that simple. So how would she play this out? Veronica's head started to ache from all the thoughts filling her mind all at once, so she went over to her drawer and took out her pills, taking two of them before grabbing the water bottle she had prepared on her nightstand to help swallow it down. Once she swallowed it, she put her pills back and only then did she notice Heather Duke watching her from the door. "I've been meaning to ask you about that." Heather said as she slowly walked into the room while Veronica sat on her bed gripping the bridge of her nose as she tried to drown out the voices in her head. "Ask about what?" Veronica asked. "Your medication? I caught you taking them one time in the girl's bathroom."

Ah, so Veronica wasn't just hallucinating Heather that day in the bathroom. "They're nothing, just something I take to calm me down." Veronica said as she slowly got up from her bed. "I wouldn't call antidepressants just nothing." Heather said and Veronica looked up to the girl with narrowed eyes. "I thought you said we weren't friends, why are you asking?" She asked and Heather huffed before looking away. "Jeez, sorry for asking then." Heather said and Veronica closed her eyes before sighing. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking before speaking." Literally, because Veronica could barely even focus on a single thought. "No, you're right, I shouldn't stick my nose in something that isn't my business. Now come on, let's get this over with already." Heather said, walking out the room while Veronica followed slowly behind. "We can take my mom's car, but you have to drive." Veronica explained as they walked down stairs. "Won't your parents notice that their car is missing?" Heather asked with a raised eyebrow as Veronica got the keys to her mom's sedan.

"My mom won't use it today since she doesn't have work and she sleeps in really late on Saturdays anyway." Veronica explained as she tossed the keys to Heather who easily caught it. "Alright, let's just go already." Heather said and Veronica nodded, leading the girl outside and getting in her mom's car which was parked in front of their house. Heather drove off and it was silent for the most part seeing as Heather didn't really feel like talking and Veronica didn't have enough functioning brain cells to think of words at the moment. The silence stayed that way the whole drive, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Well, it wasn't uncomfortable for Veronica at least, but she doesn't know if she can say the same for the girl next to her. They soon arrived in front of Heather's house and Veronica sighed, looking up at the familiar house. In the time of the drive, Veronica managed to get at least half her brain to start functioning again, so she can still form a plan.

"Heather? Heather?" Duke called out and a groan was heard from the second floor of the massive house. "What?" A groggy voice asked which made Duke and Veronica give each other a look. "It's me, Heather. I came here to apologize." Duke called out and the taller girl was hit with a sense of dejavu from when she first experienced this, except this time, she was a bystander instead of being in Heather's place. "Hope you brought knee pads, bitch. Fix me a Prairie Oyster and I'll think about it." Heather called out, making Duke sigh as she led Veronica to the girl's kitchen. "Alright, prairie oyster... What's in that?" Heather asked. "Raw eggs, vinegar, hot sauce, Worchester, salt, and pepper." Veronica recited from memory which made Heather give her a look. "Alcoholic much?" Heather asked as she started grabbing what they needed from Heather's cabinets. 

"I knew someone who was really educated on hangover cures, okay." Veronica mumbled as she watched Heather set all the ingredients down. Okay, so this was all the same as before except no one was here to make jokes about giving Heather liquid drain cleaner instead since neither of them were psychopaths. But what else could go wrong? Veronica eyed the mug on the counter and before Heather could even reach for it, Veronica grabbed it and went over to the sink, thoroughly cleaning the glass before drying it and handing it back to Heather. "What was that for?" Heather asked as she eyed Veronica weirdly. "Who knows how long that mug's been in there?" Veronica asked with a shrug, you could never be too careful. "Uh huh..." Heather said before continuing to make the prairie oyster. "Hey, you think we should drop a phlegm glob in her drink? I'm gonna be kissing her ass anyway, so might as well get back at her for all the shit she's done to me." Heather said as she started clearing her throat. 

Normally, Veronica would be very on board with that idea, especially since she had the same one when she was in Duke's position, but what if Heather had some sort of disease that would eat away at Heather's immune system and end up killing her? It may not be instant death, but it could be possible. "I don't think that's a good idea." Veronica said, taking the mug from Heather which made the girl narrow her eyes at her. "Why? It's not even that cruel of a prank." Heather said and Veronica gave her an unsure look. "That's extremely gross, why would you put anyone through that?" Veronica said as she placed the mug back on the counter. "I never pegged you to be a germaphobe." Heather said and Veronica shrugged her shoulders in response. Honestly, she really wasn't, but she'd rather be mistaken for a germaphobe than someone who should be put in an insane asylum. "I'd like to see you drink something with someone's phlegm in it." Veronica countered which made Heather chuckle. 

"Oh, please. Heather Chandler has had worse things in her mouth." Heather said jokingly. "Prairie oyster! Chop, chop!" Heather exclaimed from her room. "Speak of the devil. Come on, wouldn't want to keep the queen of beasts waiting." Heather said, taking the mug before they started going upstairs. The closer they got to Heather's room, the slower Heather's steps became and it became evident to Veronica that the girl was stalling. "Hey, it's gonna be okay." Veronica said, grabbing Heather's arm to stop her while the girl rolled her eyes. "Oh, wow. I feel so much better, what would I ever do without your wisdom?" Heather said sarcastically. "If you're gonna go in there with the mindset of everything going wrong, then you're practically asking for things to work against your favor." Veronica said. "So what? I'm just gonna go in and hope for the best?" Heather asked and Veronica nodded. "That's all you can do. Besides, nobody likes waking up in the morning with a hangover and having to talk to someone who's in a bad mood is something nobody likes either." 

"Alright. Not like I have any other option. But if this goes wrong, I'm blaming it on you." Heather said reluctantly. "Don't worry, if things go south, we can always change our names and ride up to Seattle in my mom's car." Veronica said half jokingly and she felt relieved to see that she managed to get a small smile out of the shorter girl. "Why Seattle? Why not New York or Michigan or something?" Duke asked and Veronica shrugged in reply. "If you're offering to pay gas, then we can go wherever you please." Veronica said, happy to hear Heather laugh as she watched some of the tension leave the girl's shoulders. "Alright, I guess you're not that bad for emotional support." Heather said and Veronica placed a hand on her chest. "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me." Veronica said and Heather chuckled. "Stay here. I don't want Heather to see I'm hanging with some nobody, it'll only lower my chances at getting her to forgive me." Heather said and Veronica nodded, looking into the mug in Heather's hand just to make sure it didn't magically turn into drain cleaner.

"Okay. I'll be right out here in case you need a shoulder to cry on. Happy or sad tears are good either way." Veronica said and Duke gave her a glare. "Me crying in front of you and everything else that happened was a one time thing." Heather said and Veronica nodded. "Of course, my bad. Now, good luck." Veronica said and Duke stopped for a second before nodding at the girl and going to Heather's room. Veronica leaned against the wall and let herself slide down onto the floor once she was alone with her thoughts. "You better not kill me a second time, bitch." Veronica looked up to see Heather Chandler glaring down at her with her arms crossed. Yeah, hopefully she didn't accidentally kill her a second time too.


	11. She Is A Mythic Bitch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized five minutes after publishing this that I posted off schedule and now I feel dumb. New chapters come every three days and I accidentally posted a day early, but next chapter will still be posted Monday or Sunday for people living in different time zones. But for now, enjoy the early release.

Heather Duke stopped in front of Chandler's door, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. What's the worst that could happen? Many, many things could happen and Duke can't even count on one hand the amount of things that could possibly go wrong. But there was no point in stalling. Making Chandler wait would only make her situation worse so might as well jump off the ledge before she gets pushed. Knocking on the door, Duke let herself in to see Chandler waiting by her bed, watching her carefully with narrowed eyes. "You certainly took your time." Heather said making Duke look down, unable to face the girl head on. "Well, let's get to it. Beg." Chandler said as she got up from her bed, walking over to Duke and towering over her with her height. With a sigh, Duke mustered up the courage to look at her friend in the eyes. "A lot of things went down last night-" She started, but was quickly cut off with a scoff by the other girl. "I'd actually prefer if you did this on your knees. Since you're so used to kneeling on the ground so much." Heather said in a condescending tone that made Duke flinch.

Without another word, Duke got down on her knees, knowing that defying the girl's orders wouldn't do any good. After vomiting on her shoes in front of everyone relevant in Westerberg, Heather found that there was no way to damage her pride even more. "There's nothing I can say or do to make up for humiliating you last night, but if you could give me another chance, I will do anything I can to make up for it. Please. I'll do anything." Heather said, lowering her head cowering in fear because she couldn't take the unreadable expression on Chandler's face as she stared her down. Chandler looked down at the girl before taking the mug in her hands. The action surprised Duke and she looked up to see Heather Chandler lift the mug up to her lips to take a sip. For some reason, her heart started hammering against her chest more than it already was as she watched Chandler drink the hangover cure. The blonde looked down at the cup after drinking before directing her attention back to Duke.

"Well, it seems like you aren't completely useless after all. This prairie oyster is disgusting, but not horrible." Chandler said, examining the glass before turning to Duke with a smirk on her face. "Here. Why don't you try it yourself?" Duke was about to ask what the taller girl meant when Heather tipped the mug over her head, the contents of it pouring down onto her. It was sticky and vile and it almost made Heather puke right then and there, but she held it in. Out of everything Chandler could've done, this was one of the more tame approaches. The drink was cold against her skin, the smell invading her senses, but she did not dare move because Heather hadn't told her to, of course. "Look at me." Heather Chandler said angrily through gritted teeth and Duke lifted her head to face the girl, hoping that she wouldn't notice the tears welling up in her eyes from the humiliation she was facing. She was wrong, her pride just got shattered in that moment. "Not only have you been going missing with shitty excuses as to why, but you also screwed up the easiest role in humiliating Shamu." Heather said, bending over so she was eye level with the girl.

"I should crucify you." She sneered, looking Duke up and down in disgust before standing up straight again. "But I won't." Heather said in a bored tone making Duke's eyes widen in both hope and fear. "It would look bad if the Heathers downgraded from a trio to a duo, and you're still an important asset." Duke was glad she was already on her knees, because she felt her legs shaking and there was no way she would be able to keep herself up if she was standing. "But don't think what your sorry ass did will go unpunished. You don't deserve to sit with us after what happened. A week should be enough time to make you think about what you've done." Duke looked down, clenching her fists and biting down on her lip, trying to keep in the anger she felt from the way Heather was talking down to her. "What? You don't like that? Would you prefer to get kicked out of the group altogether?" Heather asked with a raised eyebrow and Duke's head shot up after hearing the words, eyes wide and pleading to the blonde who was clearly enjoying the display.

"N-No! A week is fine." Duke said, more tears welling up after her voice cracked when speaking. Heather couldn't even begin to explain the embarrassment coursing through her body. She's endured a lot over the years of associating with Heather Chandler, but this certainly takes the cake over everything the other girl has made her do. But this was the only way. Trying to defy the girl would mean living the rest of her senior year in either hell or isolation and Heather wanted neither, so she wasn't about to test the waters on trying to defend herself. If having to take this humiliation was the only way to avoid getting her social life ruined, then she can take it. Once she graduates, she can leave it all behind her, but for now, she'll endure it. It's for the best. Real life sucks losers dry and Heather wasn't a loser, so a little degradation won't be enough to tear her down. At least that was what she was trying to convince herself. "So it's settled. Hopefully you won't get used to civilian life when the time comes for you to come back. Maybe you'll even end up staying with the geeks and the freaks for the rest of your time at Westerberg." Heather said with a smirk before looking down at Duke.

"Now get up and leave. Seeing you look so pathetic is only making my hangover worse and my hangover cure happened to spill all over the floor." Heather said, going back over to her bed and watching with a satisfied smile as Duke struggled to get up, almost slipping from the prairie oyster before making her way out of the demon queen's room. "Oh, and Heather." Chandler called out, making Heather stop and turn to face the blonde. "Make it two weeks, seeing as you made such a mess on my carpet. Consider yourself lucky that I didn't make you pay for the damage." Heather said, her eyes dark as she glared the brunette down. An unsettling silence filled the already tense room as Heather nodded, shifting her gaze to the floor before quickly making her way out of the room. She didn't even bother stopping when Veronica called for her name because she didn't care. Her heart was burning in hate, humiliation and pain all at once, but there was no way she was gonna let her tears fall for that evil bitch. Once she got out of Heather's mansion, she resisted the urge to scream and break down and instead started wiping off the excess prairie oyster that was in her hair.

"Heather." Veronica called out as she shut the door to Heather's home, making her way over to Duke who looked like she was on the verge of killing someone and Veronica silently wished that the words only meant the expression and nothing literal. "Heather, what happened?" Veronica asked, reaching over to touch Heather's shoulder, but the moment her skin made contact, Heather turned around to face Veronica, eyes blazing with fury. "Look at me! What the hell do you think happened Veronica? Huh!" Heather shouted, her anger getting the best of her as she literally pushed her away making Veronica stumble back lightly, but she managed to keep her footing. "Heather, calm down." Veronica said as she slowly approached the shorter girl. "No, don't tell me to calm down! How can I calm down when I'm practically nothing without Heather standing by me? I have nothing!" Heather exclaimed, stepping away from Veronica. Her eyes stung really badly, but there was no way she was going to cry in front of someone two times in a row. "Heather..." Veronica continued to press, but Heather was too out of it to listen.

"I should be thankful that she's even letting me back into the clique in the first place! But, god! Heather Chandler is nothing but a vile, loathsome, evil, little bitch!" Heather Duke said before letting out a scream of frustration. It was silent after that. No doubt the neighbors heard everything Duke had said since they were out in the open, but it didn't matter. Veronica watched as the gears turned in Heather's head, the shorter girl took the time to control her breathing and her thoughts and Veronica let the girl have the time for herself to find some peace after what seemed like a really stressful moment for her. "Are you calm?" Veronica asked when Duke's shallow breathing became steady and the girl shook her head, looking up to Veronica with tired eyes. "Take me home, Veronica." Duke said, sounding defeated and absolutely done with everything. "I don't have a-" Veronica should have chosen something better to say. "I don't care. Can you drive?" Heather asked and Veronica paused before nodding. 

"Then take. Me. Home." Duke said sternly and Veronica analyzed the girl before deciding. Just from the smell, Veronica could tell that Heather had dumped her prairie oyster on Duke (besides her disheveled state) and Veronica had half a mind to ask about how Chandler was doing, but every part of her being was shouting at her and telling her that it would be a bad idea, so she did what she was told. Obviously Heather would've mentioned something if Heather died from the hangover cure and after seeing the outburst the shorter girl had, it was easy to conclude that Heather Chandler was probably doing a lot better that the girl in front of her. Her eyes screamed so many emotions at once that even Veronica was overwhelmed. It made her pity the girl. Would she have been in the same position as her if she hadn't accidentally given Chandler the Drano? Veronica did care about how she was gonna live the rest of her senior year when Heather kicked her out, but Duke made it seem like this was a life impacting event. The more she thought about it, maybe it was.

To them, at least. Veronica realized how little she actually knew about the Heathers. Sure, getting kicked out of the most popular group in school sounded bad to Veronica, but she never would've reacted the way Duke was acting. She didn't know any of them enough to understand what they were going through. Maybe Heather Mac, but it seemed like it was the same case now as well since the two weren't close in this life yet. Back then, Veronica saw Duke as an acquaintance she could talk to about random things until she became the monster who continued to live in Heather Chandler's shadow even after death. But looking at her now, all Veronica could see was a scared teenage girl who just wanted to make it through high school just like everyone else. A girl that was backed into a corner with nowhere to go and Veronica felt the guilt because who knows how long Duke has been like this. She should've paid more attention. Maybe she could've stopped Duke from turning into Heather Chandler two-point-oh if she had just taken the time to actually get to know the girl. But it didn't matter now. What matters is that she had a chance to make things right and she was gonna make sure that Heather will be able to overcome this. 

"Come on, let's get going." Veronica said and Duke wasted no time going to the other side of the car to get into the passenger seat. Veronica knew there were dangers in her driving, especially since she had just taken her medication, but they barely made any effect on her anyway and the voices were still as loud as ever, so she was sure she was safe. Just as Veronica opened the door to the driver's seat, Veronica caught movement from the corner of her eyes and she quickly turned her attention to it, only to see a curtain covered window. Huh, maybe she wasn't as sane as she thought she was. Veronica made a mental note to drive slowly and be extra mindful of her surroundings as she entered her car, starting it and driving off. 

Meanwhile, Heather Chandler watched as the car drove off farther and farther into the distance. It was odd. As far as she knew, Heather Duke didn't have any real friends outside of her and Heather (if they could even call each other actual friends), and she doesn't know of any relatives of Heather who didn't live out of state or country, so the blonde wondered who that girl Heather was with could be. She's never seen her before, but her and Duke obviously had some sort of relationship if she was the one driving Duke home. Part of her still felt irritated after hearing all the words Duke used to describe her, but no matter, she'd learn her lesson eventually. She can practically feel Heather going mad from not being included in anything her and Mac were going to be doing and the very thought was enough to make a smirk appear on Heather's face. Heather needed to know her place in the food chain. Truth be told, she wasn't as angry about the incident at Ram's party as she made it seem to be. Sure, it annoyed her every time she was reminded of it, but it truly wasn't a big deal for her.

But she couldn't let anyone think that they could get away with doing something as unholy as that to her, even if Duke is a part of the strongest clique in the school. Heather needed everyone to know that she was in charge, that she had the power to destroy any of them with a flick of her wrist and no one was safe, no matter how high they were on the food chain because she would always sit on top and she will always be more powerful than them. But it was odd. Heather Duke told her everything, it was one of the reasons she kept her around since she was essential in getting any information she could use against anyone she wanted. But she doesn't remember Heather ever mentioning anything about a new friend. Since she didn't know her, it could be possible that the girl wasn't part of the higher parts of the Westerberg social ladder which could be good for Chandler since she would have something to use against Duke, but there was still the possibility of the girl being from another school. Well, Heather wasn't going to dwell on it too much. She'd find out eventually.


	12. They Float Above It All

Monday came and Heather already regretted her decision of not skipping that day. She spent most of her weekend isolated in her room despite her parent's attempts to talk to her. She was more exhausted than usual and it took a lot of effort to even get herself out of her bed. Thank god she had a car because she would've been late since she spent thirty minutes in bed just staring at her ceiling, contemplating whether or not she should just lie there or get up and head to school. After a lot of encouragement from her mother though, she ended up here at Westerberg where everyone was staring and whispering at her as she walked down the halls. Off to a great start already. Heather wishes she could walk up to every single person in that school who was talking about her as if she wasn't there and just punch them out of existence, but she can't since that was both reckless and impossible. Drawing more attention to herself was the last thing she wanted and all Heather wanted to do was lay low until the two weeks pass by so she can be untouchable again.

Classes went by painfully slow and Heather wondered how she was supposed to get through the next two weeks, especially if the days continue going on at such a slow pace. The whispers were starting to get to her as well, but luckily, when Heather threatened the group of teens that just wouldn't shut up, they didn't hesitate to back off from fear. Nice to see that she at least held some influence over the student body despite not exactly being considered 'popular' at that time. When lunch came around, Duke didn't even bother going to the cafeteria. It wasn't like she was going to eat anyway and she'd certainly have nowhere to sit. Who would let the embarrassment of the Heathers sit in the same table as them after all? It was like painting an unnecessary target on their back. So wandering the cafeteria looking for somewhere to sit would only further the embarrassment and Heather doesn't think she can take anymore of that. She tried going to the girl's bathroom but the one on the first floor was preoccupied by some horny teens who wanted a place to hookup in and the one on the third floor was filled with the stoners who refused to leave, so Heather decided to go to her last resort and head to the back of the library.

To her dismay though, her spot was already taken by the one girl she planned on avoiding for the rest of the year. "You know, I'm actually pretty invested in this now. Like, the story is still shit and there's still no trace of an actual plot, but seeing the characters interact with each other is fun." Veronica said, not looking up from the same book she was reading before as if she already knew that Duke was standing there. "What are you doing here?" Heather asked, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at the girl who continued reading. "Last time I checked, the library is open for any students to use." Veronica said before closing her book and facing Heather. "But I also needed to give this back to you." Veronica said, leaning down to grab a paper bag on the ground which Heather only noticed now as Veronica handed it to her. "What is this?" Heather asked, grabbing the bag and opening it to look at it's contents. "It's your clothes. You left them at my-" Veronica was cut off when Duke surged forward and covered her mouth with her hand. "Are you fucking crazy, Veronica? Do you want people to find out we slept together or something?" Duke asked angrily as Veronica furrowed her eyebrows before shoving Duke's hands off of her.

"God, calm down, would you? I don't have any weird homosexual motive if that's what you're getting at. I just wanted to return your clothes, and they're washed by the way, so you're welcome." Veronica said and Duke scoffed, looking back down to the bag to see that they indeed were her clothes and they did look clean. "Whatever. You can't just say that type of shit out loud unless you want the whole world finding out." Duke said, making Veronica let out a huff. "Okay, I get it." Veronica said before going back to her book, leaning against the bookcase for support. "Why are you still here?" Duke asked in a frustrated tone. "Excuse me, but I was here first and I have no intention of leaving. So if you really dislike my company that much, you're free to leave." Veronica said and Duke stood there baffled by her words. She opened her mouth to try and find a way to counter, but it only frustrated her more when she couldn't think of anything to say. She really didn't have anywhere else to go, this was her last resort and she wasn't about to leave so she could wander the halls alone like a loser.

"Alright, I'll stay, but only because I have nowhere else to go." Duke said and Veronica made a noise of confirmation, her attention not leaving the book she was reading. "Why are you even still reading that? I thought that was a shit book." Duke said, leaning against the bookcase across from Veronica. "Oh, it is, but like I said, seeing the characters interact is fun." Veronica said and Duke scrunched up her nose at the words. "I don't understand how you can keep reading it when it's so obviously bad." Duke said and Veronica shrugged. "That's exactly what makes it good." Veronica said, continuing to read and Duke gazed at the girl curiously before slumping her shoulders in defeat, realizing that she just doesn't understand it and there was probably no convincing Veronica otherwise. The two stood in silence, Veronica preoccupying herself with her book while Heather examined her nails out of boredom. It was when Veronica snorted did she grab Heather's attention. 

"Listen to this. 'I'll choose you, because the moment I laid my eyes on you, I knew that you were the one.' This guy literally met this girl a month ago and he's giving up his whole life, even his inheritance, when he has a perfectly good fiance that actually cares about him waiting for him at home. It's ridiculous." Veronica said and Duke furrowed her eyebrows, wondering why the taller girl was telling her this. "I don't remember asking." Duke said, but the smile of amusement on Veronica's face didn't falter as she just shrugged at the words. "You didn't, but you have to admit that this is stupid." Veronica said, only furthering Heather's confusion. "Yeah, no shit. If I already had everything in life, I wouldn't give it up for some stupid fling. True love be damned. That crap already sounds horrible." Duke said and Veronica simply shrugged again. "Well, it's fun to make fun of." Veronica said before going back to read. Duke eyed the girl with curiosity, wondering why Veronica was even talking to her. 

Really, Veronica was just trying to earn Duke's trust. She knew it was going to be a long process and she was fine with that. She didn't want to rush it and accidentally push her limits and push Heather away, so she was taking her time. Even if it takes months, Veronica was determined to get through to her. Veronica doesn't know if she was hallucinating again, but after seeing Heather so helpless the whole drive to her house, she knew that the girl just needed someone because she was in the same boat as her. It was obvious from her previous actions that Heather wasn't the type to open up to people easily, so she'll go at this with a steady pace and make things flow as naturally as possible. Since she spent most of her days worrying whether or not something horrible was going to happen considering Heather Chandler didn't die, trying to develop an actual friendship with Duke was like a breath of fresh air since this seemed very minuscule in comparison to the problems she's buried herself in. 

Everything was different now and Veronica made sure to be more cautious than usual, but the extra company wouldn't hurt anyone. It'd be like killing two birds with one stone, except this time, no killing would actually be involved. Not only is she trying to help Heather with whatever inner turmoil she had, but she could also gain a genuine friend in the girl which didn't sound bad at all in her opinion. Trying to gain a friend was a good distraction from the noises in her head, especially since her medication wasn't doing their job properly. The bell rang and Veronica shut the book, putting it back in the shelf she got it from. "Well, I'll see you later, Heather. I'll be here if you ever need to skip a class or something." Veronica said,walking off as her words confused Heather once again. "Wait, why?" Veronica stopped in her tracks and turned to look back at Heather who was staring at her with furrowed eyes. "Isn't that what we agreed to?" Veronica asked, but it didn't ease the other girl's confusion.

"I'm not a Heather. I can't guarantee you protection." Heather said and Veronica thought for a moment before facing Heather. "Is this a permanent thing?" She asked and Heather seriously wondered if there was something wrong with Veronica. "No? I'll be back in the group in two weeks." Heather answered and Veronica nodded. "Then you can protect me in two weeks." Veronica said before walking away. Heather concluded that Veronica is just one of those people she would never understand and at this point, she didn't even know if she wanted to understand her. Trying to analyze Veronica and figure her out was like trying to form a picture from pieces of a puzzle from different sets. There was probably a way, but she didn't have the patience to do that. Maybe in a different life, Heather could see herself being friends with the girl, but not in this one. There were too many downsides to that and Heather would rather be alone on top than have friends at the bottom. With a huff, she left the library, deciding that trying to figure out Veronica Sawyer was a useless task.  
__________

Mac frowned as the teacher started giving out their tests. She didn't even know they had a test that day, this was so unfair, who gives out tests on Mondays? As her test paper was placed on her desk, Mac watched as everyone in the room started writing while she simply gazed at the paper, not understanding a single word on her paper. Subconsciously, Mac looked over to her left to see Veronica writing on her paper and pretty much skimming through the whole test with ease. She pouted before focusing on her test again. Maybe if she hadn't shouted, Veronica would still help her. Reluctantly, Mac picked up her pen and tried her best to understand what the questions were trying to ask her. It was a multiple choice test, so she was bound to get something right. Just as she was about to answer, Mac felt something drop onto her lap. Looking down, her eyes lit up at the sight of a folded up piece of paper. She turned to the brunette, giving her a thankful look even if Veronica wasn't facing her.

Unfolding it, Heather got ready to fill out her tests until she actually looked down at what was on the paper. They weren't anything that was on the given choices, it was just more words that Mac didn't understand. She looked over to Veronica who was scratching the side of her finger with her thumb. When Veronica glanced over to her, Heather sent her a confused look, but Veronica just gave her a nod as if she'd understand what that meant. How was Heather supposed to answer the test with this? She tried to understand what the words on it meant, but she didn't know how it was going to help her with this. In the end, she just went with her original plan of answering randomly in hopes of getting some questions right. When the class ended, the teacher collected the papers and Mac got up, quickly cutting Veronica off before she could even leave her desk. "What was that?" She asked with a frown, making Veronica confused by the expression on her face.

"What was what?" She asked and Mac gave her an exasperated look before lifting the paper to show Veronica. "This. None of the answers were on it. I think I'm gonna fail again." Heather said and Veronica grabbed the paper, looking down at it before turning to Heather. "Yes, they are." Veronica said, handing Heather the paper again. "No, they weren't. None of these were in the choices." Heather said and Veronica finally realized what Heather was talking about. "Did you not realize what I was trying to do here?" Veronica asked, grabbing the paper again before pointing to one of the clues she wrote down. "Heather, look. Number nine, powerhouse of the cell." Veronica said and Heather furrowed her eyebrows. "I don't get it, that wasn't a choice on the test." Heather said which made Veronica look at the blonde with a shocked expression. "Heather, do you not know what the powerhouse of the cell is?" Veronica said, making Heather let out a laugh. "Of course I do! I'm not stupid! It's the Mito... Chondria..." Heather said trailing off before raising her eyebrows in amusement. "Oh." Veronica was absolutely dumbfounded that Heather didn't understand what she tried to do.

"Heather, I can't just give you the answers." Veronica said, handing Heather the paper back. "But you did last time! It's way easier than making me figure this stuff out." Heather whined and Veronica let out a sigh from the words. "You can't just cheat your way into getting high grades. What about your other classes? How do you expect to pass them, I'm not in any of your other classes." Veronica said and Heather pouted. "I'm already passing all my classes. I have nerds doing my worksheets and homework in every class and that's enough to keep them up. I just want to see a high score on my test and I never thought to cheat until now." Heather explained with a grin. "Then why don't you just study?" Veronica asked and Heather whined once again. "That takes so much work! I'm always busy, I don't have the time!" Veronica sighed once again, trying to figure out how she was going to go about all of this. "Look, how about this. If you manage to find some time in your schedule and if you really want to see high scores on your tests, you can talk to me so I can help you study, but I'm not gonna help you cheat." Veronica said before the warning bell rang.

"I have to go. I promise you, Heather. Getting a high score from your own effort will feel better than getting a high score from cheating. Just consider it. I'll see you later." Veronica said before leaving because she was seriously going to be late if she stayed any longer. Heather watched as Veronica left before looking back down at the piece of paper in her hands. Maybe if she just stared at it hard enough, she'd actually make sense of what was written on there. The brunette's words repeated itself in her head as she thought about what she said. Between partying and cheerleading practice, there really wasn't much else to do, so she just spent her time hanging with the Heathers which already took a lot of time in itself. But then she remembered how it felt when she got that high score. Was what Veronica was saying true? Will it feel even better if she actually studied for a test and got the high score on her own? All her and the other Heathers did was talk shit about the other students and go shopping anyway... So maybe she could make time to study and with Veronica's help, it should be easy since she was smart. Heather continued thinking about this as she walked to her next class.

Meanwhile, Veronica stood by her locker, hurrying to get her books because the halls were starting to become empty and even if she's already lived through these classes once, she still didn't want to be late. She hasn't experienced going off to college yet and she doesn't want that to change of all things when she went back in time. Just as Veronica was taking out her last book, her locker door slammed shut right in front of her which made her yelp and quickly draw her hand back. About to curse at the person who startled her, Veronica turned to her right with narrowed eyes which quickly turned wide at the sight of the person next to her. Blinking her eyes multiple times, Veronica tried to figure out if the girl in front of her was a hallucination or not. No, her hallucinations can't touch anything and this girl just slammed her locker shut. Stepping back from fear (though probably not the fear Heather Chandler was going for) Heather smirked as she slowly walked towards the brunette.

"Veronica Sawyer." Heather Chandler said and Veronica froze which gave Heather the opportunity to get right up to her face. "I know your secret." Heather said and Veronica felt her blood run cold, still struggling trying to figure out if she was real or not, continuously blinking and subtly pinching herself to see if she'd go away, but she wouldn't. She's tried so hard to avoid Heather Chandler altogether in case even being near her becomes a danger to her life, but somehow Heather Chandler managed to find her way to her. "I-I-" She couldn't form any words. Meeting Heather wasn't even an option in her mind cause she was determined to avoid her for the entire school year in hopes that she won't be in any line of danger. "For a greasy little nobody, you managed to successfully worm your way into two out of three Heathers. What are you trying to get at here?" Heather said, towering over Veronica menacingly. Veronica was naturally taller than the blonde in front of her, but her heels made her two inches taller and even without them, Heather Chandler wouldn't fail in intimidating the hell out of anyone she wants.

"Are you using them? Trying to get some dirt on them to take down the popular kids?" Chandler asked while Veronica struggled to form words, stammering and stuttering when opening her mouth which greatly annoyed Chandler. Tired of her antics, Heather Chandler gripped Veronica's face which made the girl tense up as Heather Chandler stared right into her eyes as if she was trying to get her soul and trap it in a bottle for her to use any time. "Who are you?" Heather Chandler asked and Veronica shut her eyes, the familiar words ringing in her head as she felt her breathing go shallow. "I'm just trying to help..." She croaked out without meaning to. It was fairly easy for Heather to find Veronica. All she had to do was check the yearbook and there she was. Heather Chandler never forgets a face, at least not a face she deemed as important. Needless to say that the girl in front of her wasn't going to be a threat. One look from her and it looked like she was ready to collapse from fear. It was exactly what she wanted. "Stay out of our way." Heather Chandler said, letting go of Veronica with a forceful shove, watching in satisfaction as she slammed into the lockers before walking off. She already did what she needed to do.

Veronica's breathing was out of control and the voices were louder than ever. Her knees were too weak from the confrontation to keep her up which caused her to fall to the ground. All she needed was to breathe and keep her thoughts down, but both were seeming to be very impossible tasks at that moment. She didn't bring her medication and even those would be useless. Her heart hammered against her chest and the sound of her heart beating was mixing with the voices, making her dizzy and overwhelmed from all the noise as she desperately gasped for air, her lungs feeling like they were burning. The tears that formed in Veronica's eyes wouldn't even fall because she was too preoccupied with everything else her body was putting her through. She was growing lightheaded as the sound of faint footsteps made their way to her. Her eyes were growing heavy and it felt like her body was shutting down from how tired it suddenly became in such a short amount of time. The footsteps grew closer, but Veronica didn't have the energy to try and see who was there. 

The last thing she saw before blacking out was rusted up sneakers, the swaying of a black trench coat and a cigarette being tossed onto the ground.


	13. Greetings and Salutations

Veronica felt her head start to spin as she stirred awake. Veronica barely remembers what happened to make her blackout. She hasn't passed out due to an anxiety attack in months and she's surprised that she hasn't sooner since coming back in time. The last thing she remembered was Heather Chandler slamming her locker shut, but everything past that was really blurry. Gripping her head, Veronica opened her eyes and adjusted herself to sit up from where she was laying down. Where was she anyway? Opening her eyes, Veronica winced at the light that hit her, only making her headache grow. "Here." Veronica froze at the sound of the voice. She recognized that voice anywhere and she was afraid to see if the owner of that voice was real or another trick her mind was playing on her. "Take it, it'll help with the headache." Hesitantly, Veronica slowly opened her eyes and she was met with a cherry slushy from seven eleven. She looked up and immediately regretted doing so as her heart rate picked up when she was met with those dark eyes staring right at her. "I know it may seem stupid, but try it. Fight the pain with more pain, am I right?" JD said and Veronica eyed him carefully before reaching up to grab the slushy from him. 

Part of her wanted to scream at him and tell him all about how he ruined her life and another part of her wanted nothing more than to jump into his arms and cry about how much he's missed him. But this wasn't her JD. No, this wasn't the JD that killed three of her classmates in cold blood. This was the JD who was offering her a slushy in order to help with the pain in her head? As she drank from the slushy, Veronica felt the cold rush to her head which made her groan and grip it, but as the pain settled down, Veronica noticed that the voices settled down along with it. "Home remedy, five star reviews from only the best critics in the world." JD said and Veronica nodded, continuing to drink from the slushy. "Managed to make a trip to seven eleven and snag some while you were out cold." JD said, leaning against his chair and taking a sip from his own slushy. Veronica didn't know how she was supposed to act. For one, she couldn't really blame JD for everything he did since none of that has happened (yet, but hopefully not), but this was still the same JD. Who knows what he's capable of doing. One wrong move and he could easily be triggered into being the killer he became.

"I brought you here when I saw you pass out, but as luck seems to have it, Westerberg doesn't have the budget to hire a nurse that actually knows what she's doing, yet they have all the sports equipment in the world. I'm your best bet and so far, I think I've done well. Maybe I could become a doctor and make a name out of myself." JD said half jokingly and Veronica felt a sense of peace and tensity. It was nostalgic, hearing him talk to her again, but she was paranoid, on edge and waiting for disaster to hit. "You have a name?" JD asked and Veronica looked up from her slushy, realizing that she's never actually talked to JD in this life yet. "I know you're not one for talking, but I at least deserve to know your name after helping you out." JD said, smirking at the girl who fell into a trance. Veronica felt like how she first felt when making eye contact with JD from across the cafeteria during lunchtime poll. Swoopy hair, shiny eyes that she could swim in all day, the smirk that was so enticing. Veronica had to force herself to snap out of it. "V-Veronica." She stuttered and the boy smiled, leaning over to rest his elbows onto his knees.

"Veronica." He said, testing it out as Veronica felt her heart clench by just the sound of how it rolled off his tongue. "Well, Veronica, this your first anxiety attack? Heather seemed to do a real number on you." At the mention of the girl, Veronica felt the panic start to settle in. "No!" She exclaimed, but JD didn't seem startled by her sudden outburst. "I mean... No. It's not my first time having an anxiety attack." Veronica said, her tone softer as she directed the conversation away from Heather Chandler. "You're lucky I was there when I was, otherwise the whole student body would've seen you passed out in the halls. For the short time I've been at this school, I can already tell that you'll get more laughs than helping hands." Veronica nodded, making a move to take another sip from her slushy only to notice that she had already finished it. "Yeah... Thanks." Veronica mumbled as she set the cup aside. "Jason Dean, resident new kid here at Westerberg. You can call me JD instead." JD said, straightening up in his seat as he extended his hand towards Veronica. 

The brunette eyed his hand with curiosity and suspicion. Her mind went to every possible scenario, no matter how ridiculous and far fetched, if she shook his hand. He could pull out a gun the moment she's vulnerable and shoot her and the rest of the school... Or this could just be a regular handshake. Veronica lifted her hand and took JD's hand in hers. She ignored how her heart jumped when JD's grip on her tightened before letting go. Well, she tried to at least. "Nice to see someone with actual emotions in this school. For a second, I thought everyone here were just mindless robots that are blind to the system." JD said and Veronica nodded, leaning back into the bed. "As much as I love talking to myself like how I do most days, it'd be nice to not be the only one carrying this conversation. JD said and Veronica swallowed nervously, her eyes trailing down to her lap. "I don't really know what to say..." She said honestly and JD sent her a reassuring nod. "I get that. Not everyone is comfortable with talking to strangers." He explained.

"Yeah..." Veronica was at a complete loss here. Her mind was at war with each other, the sensible side of her brain telling her to run and her emotional side telling her to speak up more. She figured that if she did neither, she'd be fine, but that obviously wasn't the case. "So, what's your deal with the Heathers? They forced you into being their lapdog or something?" JD asked and Veronica felt the hair on her arms rise as a chill ran down her spine. What was she supposed to say? She can't lie by saying that they're friends because JD saw how Chandler confronted her earlier, so that was a dead end. What if she tells him the truth and he ends up wanting to kill them in order to "defend" her in his own sick way. JD seemed to notice how tense Veronica became along with how her hands were clenched into fists, so he decided to drop the subject. "Not something you want to talk about, just take a few breaths." JD said, his voice calm and somewhat empathetic. A tone that Veronica hasn't heard from the boy in awhile.

"How do you feel about skipping class?" JD asked, making Veronica look up and furrow her eyebrows at him. "Why?" She asked and the boy shrugged, getting up and picking up a bag on the ground which Veronica recognized was hers. "I don't think anyone would want to stay in school after having an anxiety attack." JD said, extending his hand for the girl to take. "Come on, I promise it'll be quite a journey." He said with a smile and Veronica's heart started hammering in her chest for multiple reasons. "I don't know you." Veronica said, shuffling backwards from where she was. "Then get to know me." Fate kept throwing things at Veronica that threw her off guard. Similar to Heather Chandler, Veronica thought that she could get away with not interacting with JD for the entire year, but here she was. JD managed to make his way to her because for some sick reason, fate seemed to enjoy seeing her suffer. She could say no, it's as easy as that. But she looked into those eyes, those dark eyes that made her weak and she already knew she was a lost cause.

"Okay." When it comes to JD, Veronica knew that she would always be weak. If she was strong enough, no one would've died. If she was sensible enough to see what he was doing, none of it would've happened and she could've lived through her senior year in peace without any body counts, but this was Jason Dean we're talking about. There was something about him that she couldn't quite place that made her drawn to him. Once upon a time, Veronica even considered him her soulmate, but she's not so sure if she wants a murderer to be her soulmate. But it doesn't matter. There was no way Veronica could say no to JD. That's just how it was with her and she absolutely hated it because no matter how much she wants to push him away and just move on with her life, deep down she knew she still loved and cared for him. Her thoughts were enough to distract her that she didn't even notice leaving the school, getting on JD's motorbike and arriving at a diner near the highway. 

She was shocked. Veronica for sure thought JD was just going to take her to seven eleven like how most of their dates used to go, but they were at some place she's never been to before. Did not meeting JD give him time to explore or something? Maybe so, he was always an enigma, someone she could never quite understand. The two entered the diner and looked around at the small yet homey place which was filled with a variety of people from different age groups. JD led her to an empty table and before he could even spark up a conversation, a waitress came over to their table with a huge grin on her face. "Nice to see you here again, JD." The woman with tattoos on her arm said and JD let out a light laugh. "Hello to you too, Becky." He said as Becky took out her notepad. "Who's this you've brought with you? Aren't you two supposed to be in school?" Becky asked. 

"I just wanted to show Veronica over here the beauty of Lulu's Pies." JD said, pointing over to Veronica who gave the woman a shy smile. "Hi..." She said awkwardly, but it didn't seem to bother Becky at all, her smile only growing. "Aren't you a cute little thing. Well, this place will treat you perfectly. What would you like?" Becky asked. "Actually, we'll take a moment to decide first." JD said and Becky nodded, giving two one more smile before leaving. "How did you find this place?" Veronica asked and JD shrugged, leaning back onto his chair. "The slushy machine was under maintenance and nothing else would help numb my brain, so I tried to find a place with some milkshakes and I found this little place. It's small, but charming. I'll miss it when I leave." JD said nonchalantly as he looked around. "Leave?" She asked despite already knowing what he meant, but he didn't know that. "Me and my dad move around a lot. It's been like that since I was a kid and..." Something that didn't change about JD in this timeline was his tendency to over share.

She nodded along as he told the story about his mom and his relationship with his dad, all things she's heard before while taking it all in. A lot of things happened in that one day and she was thankful that JD was talking about his story because it gave her time to think. She wondered how Duke was spending the rest of her day from being away from the Heathers. She wondered if Mac was considering her offer and wished that the girl would take the opportunity and she wondered what Chandler's motive was when confronting her. She also wondered why JD brought her here when he didn't even know her. The only interaction they had was when he asked her for a smoke, but she was too busy trying to stop herself from breaking down to even have a proper conversation with him. Soon enough, Becky came back to take their orders which snapped Veronica out of her thoughts. "What about you, honey? What would you like?" Becky asked and Veronica shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"I don't really know. Do you have any suggestions?" Veronica asked and JD piped in. "I like the breakfast menu the most. I know it's called Lulu's Pies and everything, but the breakfast here is so perfect you can eat them anytime and easily beats out the pies." JD said and Becky let out a hum of disapproval. "Don't let Jenna catch you saying that or she'll force you to eat all her experiment pies." Becky said and Veronica smiled. "How about I'll try both?" Veronica said and Becky nodded. "Two breakfast meals and the special pie coming right up!" Becky said before leaving. "I'm telling you, the breakfast here is superior, but you do you." JD said with raised arms. "Why did you bring me here?" Veronica asked, unable to hold her thoughts in any longer. It's been one of the many questions she's had stuck in her mind. JD's playful aura died down as Veronica felt the air grow more serious. "You had an anxiety attack. I know first hand how horrible those are and it's never fun to go through them alone. I simply thought I should offer my assistance." JD explained.

This was a side Veronica never saw from JD. Sure, he sympathized with her whenever she would go to him about her problems, but JD always talked about his problems like they were as little as tripping on stairs in front of a crowd. Always brushing them off like nothing and it's probably why Veronica struggled getting through to him on multiple accounts. But now, she actually has a sense of what JD might be going through everyday and it calmed her thoughts down a bit to know that she wasn't alone. But it also scared her. If she shared the same struggles as JD, does that mean she's bound to become a killer as well? Technically she already was, but that wasn't a truth she liked facing. To her, she never was a killer, just an innocent bystander drawn in by the wrong crowd and the mastermind of it all was sitting right in front of her. Her and JD had a lot in common. A hate for popular kids, the overly entitled, most adults, reality tv and many other things. Now that she thought about it, their relationship was built on a foundation of hate and it was probably why they grew to love each other.

But they didn't really share much else, let alone pain. But it was different now. Back then, Veronica was just an teen who was blissfully ignorant to the dangers of the world, but now, she had a trauma that she could actually use to relate to JD with. If she thought she was damaged then, what should she call herself now? It made her stomach sink. When JD talked about the voices in his head, she thought he was just joking around, so the thought of it actually being real now that she's experienced it herself was greatly upsetting. Veronica was JD's girlfriend, yet she didn't even know how deep his pain truly ran. Sure, he became a psychotic murderer, but at one point, she was with a kid just like her who was just in pain. Now though, her and JD shared a similar type of pain. It wasn't necessarily positive, but it was something they shared nonetheless. "So you took me here... Because you felt bad?" Veronica asked, trying to make more sense of the situation.

"Don't sell yourself short like that, you're making it sound like I only took you here cause I pitied you. I took you here because I know a damaged soul when I see one." Looking at him now, Veronica's perception of JD being a cold and merciless killer faded because the more she thought about it, the boy sitting in front of her was just a scared kid who didn't want to be alone just like her. In a way, it was like looking into a mirror. A very broken mirror that still managed to keep standing. "I never thought damage would bring me here." Veronica said with a sad laugh. Because it was sad. They were only seventeen. She's stated this multiple times before, but now, the words were an even heavier weight on her shoulders. God, what have they done with their lives and where did it get them? "I feel like I've spoken about myself enough for today. Tell me about you, Veronica." It felt like continuing this conversation was the same equivalent of falling into a hole she could never get out of, but Veronica felt relief in being understood for once, so even if she managed to get out of the hole once, she'll gladly fall into it again.


	14. I Did(n't) Need Your Help

Veronica would like to say she was making progress. Her and Duke were slowly beginning to form a stable relationship from talking about the book Veronica was reading to Duke whining about someone annoying her which Veronica was glad about. They weren't necessarily friends, but they've developed a silent truce in being civil towards one another like how they were when their relationship started. Her friendship with Martha was still pretty good. They'd eat lunch with each other every other day since Veronica would spend some time in the library, but they made up for lost time with movie nights. Martha did seem a bit different. Veronica couldn't tell if it was a good or bad different, but it must be because of the party which Martha told her was a dream come true. Meanwhile, Veronica spent most of her time after school with JD at the diner which she mentally labeled as their spot. She knew it was a bit reckless to just hang out casually with the boy, but Veronica told herself that she could let herself be happy for once. 

Speaking of, "You look awfully chipper today." Duke said with a grimace, wondering how anyone could be happy while they were in school. "Am I not allowed to be happy?" Veronica asked, now more aware of the smile she's been wearing on her face. "No... But, like... Why?" Duke asked and Veronica shook her head. "I don't know, I just am. You should try it." Veronica said jokingly, not realizing the weight of her words. "Well, there's nothing to be happy about for me, so sorry to disappoint." Duke said bitterly, crossing her arms as her shoulders slumped down. Veronica felt like slapping herself in that moment, but she refrained from doing so because if she does, Duke might think she's more crazy than she probably already thinks Veronica is. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that." Veronica said, trying to sound as genuine as she could so those words would hit Duke more than her original words. "Yeah, whatever." Duke said, refusing to meet the girl's eyes. Veronica tried to think of something to say in order to back track her first statement, but the bell beat her to it.

"See ya, Veronica." Duke mumbled and Veronica sighed as she watched the girl walk away. Great, that could easily delete all the progress she's made with the girl so far and Veronica mentally berated herself for being so careless. Ever since she started hanging out with JD, she's been off guard, but she can't exactly stop hanging out with him. He's the only one who actually understood what she was going through in a way and she wasn't about to give that up. Her thoughts have been a little quieter since she actually has someone to relate to, so JD was there to stay, she just needed to manage how to stay on her guard while letting herself be weak for their little moments. Just the thought of seeing him at the end of the day made her heart jump, but in the good way. Until she was reminded that being distracted like this was the reason she upset Duke in the first place. She was too distracted, Veronica needed to keep things in track. 

Veronica continued thinking that she didn't even notice the test paper being placed on her table. Fixing things with Duke has been stuck in her mind the whole day that Veronica was running through the day in her own head. The class passed by with Veronica continuing to think things through that she didn't even notice the bell ring. It was only when another test paper appeared on her desk did she snap out of her thoughts. Looking at the paper, the first thing that caught Veronica's eyes was the forty-six on the upper right hand corner of the paper written in red marker. Veronica looked up to see Heather Mac smiling at her sheepishly. "So... Is your tutoring offer still up for grabs?" She asked and for a second, Veronica was confused as to what the blonde was talking about, until she remembered their conversation a few days ago. The girl smiled at Heather, happy that Heather even considered her offer. "Of course it is." Veronica said taking the test and getting up from her seat. 

"When are you next free?" Veronica asked as she looked through Heather's test, keeping a mental note of the questions Heather got right and the questions she got wrong and just didn't answer. She was already familiar with this process since she did the same with Heather's other tests back in the original timeline. "Um, is tomorrow after school okay?" Heather really had to think about this in the few days she had time to consider Veronica's words. She'd figure that she'd split her time with Heather to Veronica whenever she didn't have cheer leading practice which was rare. "Yeah, that's good. How often can we meet up?" Veronica asked. "Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays." Heather Mac said which made Veronica look up to her with a questioning look. "My schedule is really filled and those were the only days I could make time." Heather said looking down and Veronica nodded. "We can meet up at the local library to study and-" Heather Mac quickly cut in when she realized what Veronica was saying. "We can't meet in public."

Another thing Veronica forgot about the Heathers was their social status. You'd think that with how much their school worships the Heathers that Veronica wouldn't forget, but she was so used to just treating Heather Mac like a regular person and a friend that the fact that they were in two different worlds now constantly slipped her mind. "I'm sorry, but I really can't risk anyone finding out that I'm getting tutored by a... Well..." Heather said, looking away from Veronica in fear that she had hurt the girl's feelings. In any other situation, Veronica would've been greatly offended, but she's experienced the faults that came with being popular. It pained Veronica to have to pretend like she didn't know Martha whenever she was with the Heathers and the busy schedule that came with it made it hard for her to make time to even see Martha, so Veronica understood perfectly where the girl was coming from. "It's alright, I get it. We can meet up at my house or yours whenever." Mac sighed in relief, happy that Veronica didn't take her words personally. 

"Thanks for understanding." Heather said and Veronica smiled at the girl before handing back her test paper. "No problem, and don't worry, we'll get your grades up in no time." Veronica said and Heather smiled, furrowing her eyebrows slightly at the words, but she brushed her confusion off. "I'll see you tomorrow, Veronica." Heather said, waving at the brunette before leaving the class. At least something good happened that day. Veronica still had to figure out how she was supposed to apologize to Heather. She ended up at the girl's bathroom in free period, exiting her stall after she was done with her business when the door busted open and Veronica felt herself be pushed away as a flash of green made it's was to the third stall. Immediately knowing who it was, Veronica went to where Duke was, kneeling down behind her and pulling up her hair as she threw up into the toilet. She hasn't done this in awhile, but it all felt weirdly nostalgic. Veronica rubbed Duke's back comfortingly, making sure none of her hair got to her face until the girl was finished.

"Do you just go into every occupied stall you see or are you really just that much of a creep?" Heather asked in a weak tone, dry heaving as she hugged the toilet in case more came up. Despite the words meaning to cause offense, Veronica knew not to take it personally since Heather was usually the most vulnerable when it came to her bulimia and she never wanted to be seen as weak nor vulnerable. "I usually only do that on Saturdays, but I guess today's an exception." Veronica said jokingly, but Heather didn't have the energy to laugh as she lifted her head. The taller girl gave Heather some space as she leaned against the stall door tiredly. "Here." Veronica said, reaching up to grab some of the tissue in the stall and handing it over to Duke who silently took it, wiping her mouth before tossing it into the bin. Reaching into her pocket, Duke took out a pack of gum and took a stick for herself before extending the pack to Veronica who took one for herself.

"Heather, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." Veronica spoke after a moment of silence passed between them, but as soon as she finished her sentence, Veronica was met with a groan of irritation. "Veronica, I'm not really in the mood for an apology right now." Heather shut her eyes from how light headed she was while Veronica shifted her gaze to her lap, fiddling with the gum wrapper in her hand. "Sorry, Heather." The girl mumbled which made Heather sigh. It was silent between them again, the air tense from the silence. "Thanks..." Duke mumbled and her words made Veronica grow confused. "For what?" She asked and Heather opened her eyes to look at Veronica with an embarrassed look. "For helping me out when I was throwing up." Duke said, rubbing her shoulder as Veronica nodded. "Well, I wasn't about to leave you with vomit stained hair." Veronica joked which managed to get a playful scoff from Heather. "If you did, I would've kicked your ass." The two girls shared a small laugh at their little banter before settling down.

"I also appreciate it." Veronica looked at the girl with a confused expression and Duke quickly cut in before Veronica could question it. "The apology, I mean," She explained, making the crease between Veronica's eyebrows disappear, "It's nice being apologized to after saying sorry about useless things on command for years." Duke said sadly which made Veronica send her a sympathetic look. "It's fine, though." Heather said with a wave of her hand, knowing Veronica would say something and she didn't really want to deal with pity at that moment, or ever, actually. "I wasn't all that mad. I guess I was just upset that the loser I see everyday seems to have it better than me when I was on top of the world only a few days ago." Heather said which made Veronica let out a sad chuckle. "You have no idea..." Duke decided not to question Veronica's statement, not wanting to disturb the comfortable air they now have. "You know, you're not so bad as company, Veronica." Duke spoke out and Veronica let out a light laugh at that.

And it was true. So far, the only person who's really kept her from being alone after being kicked from the Heathers was Veronica. Even though Veronica had nothing to gain from her, she still met up in the library with her and tried talking to her even though she constantly showed disinterest in even being in the same room as her. Though she would never admit it out loud, Duke actually looked forward going to the library because it was the only place in that school where she didn't feel judged or ashamed in the presence of another person. It was the best part of her day, but seeing her situation, there wasn't really anything to top it and take it's place of 'best'. Even now, Veronica stayed to comfort her when she was vomiting. Heather can say that she wouldn't do that if she was in Veronica's shoes. "Took you long enough to admit it." The girl replied which made Duke kick her in the shin, though the smile on her face showed that she wasn't actually annoyed. "You're supposed to say it back, jackass." Veronica couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. "You expect me to call you good company right after you kick me and call me a jackass."

Duke shook her head in amusement as she let her head fall back onto the wall, closing her eyes and trying to push down the literal sick feeling in her stomach and just trying to relax. "Veronica, I have a question." Duke asked and Veronica hummed in reply, training her gaze onto the cracks on the roof. "Go on." Duke paused for a moment, thinking if she should say what she should say. It's been a question drifting around in her head since the start of the week and she's been wanting to ask it for awhile, she just didn't know when. For some reason she thought now was a good time to ask. "Why do you still hang around me?" Duke asked and Veronica turned turned to Heather with a surprised look. "Where'd that come from?" Veronica asked, not knowing how to answer Heather's question when she didn't even understand it. "I don't know," Duke shrugged lazily as she spoke, "You can't blame me for being suspicious. No one's ever really talked to me without wanting something, and now that I'm a nobody, no one talks to me at all." Veronica analyzed Duke who was picking at the grout on the tiles.

"Do you think that I only talk to you because I want something?" Veronica asked which made Duke look up at her with narrowed eyes. "You didn't answer my question." The taller girl raised her hands in defense before thinking to herself for a moment. "You're right, I do want something from you." Veronica said, watching Heather's shoulders slightly slump down, disappointment settling in her eyes. "Oh..." Heather said in a soft tone, subconsciously lifting her legs and hugging them close to her. She should've known. Why did she think this was any different? The annoyance crept up in Heather as she pushed down the pit that had formed in her stomach. "Well, get on with it then. Tell me what you want and I'll give it to you so we can be even and you can finally leave me alone." Duke snapped, her defenses coming back up, yet she refused to face me in the eyes. "I don't know, part of me feels like you won't want to give me this." Veronica leaned back into the wall, watching Heather and feeling slightly guilty for this. Heather stayed silent, shutting her eyes as tears formed in her eyes. God she was so stupid.

Okay, maybe Veronica should stop this charade now. "Your friendship." Veronica spoke up, not being able to watch Duke look so hurt anymore. She just wanted to mess with the girl a bit, but Veronica couldn't even do that without feeling bad about it. "What?" Duke asked, opening her eyes and looking at the girl with an expression of shock. "Do I look like someone who would use another human being for my own gain?" Veronica asked, pushing away the nagging voice in her head that called out her contradictory statement since she did exactly that when she first met the Heathers. Meanwhile, Heather felt her heart clench and flutter at the same time after hearing what Veronica said. Part of her felt light, like she was laying in clouds after finding out that she's actually wanted by someone and annoyed at Veronica for playing with her emotions like that along with becoming that upset about it in the first place. "You are such an asshole." Heather let out a laugh, letting her legs fall back down to lightly kick Veronica in the shin again. "You know, if you keep kicking me, I might not want your friendship anymore." 

"Why?" Heather asked and Veronica hummed in reply. "I don't think anyone would want to be friends with someone who constantly kicks them." Heather let out another laugh at that. "Can you be serious for one minute?" The girl asked half jokingly and Veronica sent her a small smile. "I'll try." Veronica said and the two sat in silence for a second. Heather repeated Veronica's words in her head, lifting up her legs and hugging them close again, reliving the feeling of her heart fluttering when Veronica said what she had said just a few minutes ago. "You're not bad company either." Veronica spoke up, breaking Duke from her trance. "You don't talk to me much, but at least you listen even when you're usually annoyed by whatever I say." Veronica said and Duke looked down, not knowing what to say to that. "I just want to know more about you. I mean, how many people can say they actually know Heather Duke on a deep level?" Veronica asked making Duke look up to meet her eyes. "I guess I also want that privilege. You seem really interesting, who wouldn't want to know more?" For the first time, Veronica could finally say, in confidence, that she was telling the truth.

Even in the first life, she didn't know much about Heather Duke. Sure, she liked to read, but that was something everyone knew about. When she was in the Heathers, she at least knew something about Mac and Chandler that no one else knew about. Like how Mac secretly really likes classical music when she put on her playlist whenever they started hanging out and Heather Chandler is a sucker for rom-coms cause when they went out to watch the movies, she practically forced Veronica into watching Pretty in Pink with her and she saw the huge grin on Heather's face the whole time. But Heather Duke? Nothing really came to mind. "There's not much to know." Heather spoke up, her tone sad, but it was as if it was something Heather had already come to terms with. "Come on, I'm sure there's something." Veronica said and Heather shook her head. "Like what?" She asked and Veronica thought to herself for a moment before answering. "What's your favorite color?" Heather snorted at the question, turning to Veronica who gave her an expectant look. "Well?" One color came into mind, but it didn't feel right. She doesn't know why, especially since she wore it everyday, but green felt somewhat foreign to her. 

Whenever she wore green, she never felt confident in the way she should be. She's been told multiple times that she looked great in green and that green was her color, so why didn't it feel like it? Not being able to give Veronica a solid answer, Duke did what she usually did and evaded the question. "Isn't it obvious?" She asked, and it should have been obvious, but it wasn't. Veronica stared at the girl, seeing the doubt in her eyes and taking note of the light quiver in her voice, but she decided to drop the subject. "Favorite food?" Veronica asked and Duke rolled her eyes playfully at the words. "Are you just gonna ask a bunch of middle school questions?" She asked and Veronica laughed. "Alright, fine. Your mother is hanging on the edge of a cliff and a bus full of children is about to fall, who do you save?" Veronica asked which made Duke's eyes widen in shock. "Jesus, Veronica." The other girl snickered at the words. "You didn't want middle school questions so here they are." Veronica explained and Duke laughed before humming to herself. "My mom... Wait, no... My mom, final answer." Duke answered and Veronica raised an eyebrow at her. "Care to elaborate?" She asked and Heather scoffed. "Okay, well, first of all,"

It wasn't much, but it was a start.


	15. Up For Movie Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this one was shorter than my usual chapters and I didn't proofread, but I wrote it while being half awake. The next chapter will be longer, I swear. I actually went over my word limit, but I guess that's good. By the way, everything will be explained at some point so if it's confusing now, it will be resolved. Just not now. I have a lot of plans for this fic and I've barely even scratched at the surface.

Veronica felt Heather's gaze on her as she graded the test she made for her. The two girls were in Veronica's room for a tutoring session. They've been at it for two days now and the brunette decided that Heather was ready for a crash course test just to see if she was able to remember anything Veronica taught her. Heather was shocked when she actually started understanding what everything meant, thanks to Veronica's clear way of explaining things that made it easier for her to comprehend. When taking her test, Heather was surprised to see that she was actually able to answer the questions. Even if she wasn't completely sure about her answers, at least she had the basic idea of what the questions were actually asking her which is something she hasn't been able to do in awhile. "Okay, so the passing score of fifteen is twelve and you got..." Veronica paused for a moment while Heather waited expectantly for the girl to continue.

"Thirteen." Veronica faced Heather's test paper toward her to show her score which made the girl squeal, eagerly taking the paper and gazing happily at her score. "You were right, this does feel better." Heather giggled, enjoying how light she felt by getting a high score by herself. "Imagine how it'll feel on an actual test." Veronica said with a laugh and Heather nodded. "Look out Veronica, I'm gonna get a bunch of one hundreds just like you." Heather said and Veronica smiled at the words. "Glad to see you're looking forward to get higher grades, keep that up and we can maybe even raise your GPA." Veronica said, fixing up the papers that were scattered along her bed. "My GPA's fine, I don't need to fix it." Heather said casually, but the words made Veronica grow confused. "What is your GPA anyway?" Veronica asked, realizing that she didn't actually know. "Three-point-three, why?" Heather asked which made Veronica's eyes widen.

"Wait, what?" Veronica asked in shock. "Why? What's wrong?" Heather tilted her head, gazing at Veronica with a confused expression. "Heather, how can you have a three-point-three GPA?" Heather shrugged in reply. "I don't know, all I know is that that's my GPA." Confusion settled in Veronica and it showed just from the look on her face. "But that's impossible, you're failing." The blonde giggled at that. "I'm not failing, silly! I already told you this." Heather said like saying that would suddenly make everything make sense. "But your tests-" Veronica was cut off when the door to her room opened to show Martha who had a shocked look on her face. "Martha, what are you doing here?" Veronica asked, noticing how both Martha and Heather became uncomfortable in the presence of the other. "Um... It's movie night." Veronica furrowed her eyes and checked the clock on her desk. "It's four, I thought you were coming at seven?" Veronica asked and Martha eyed Heather carefully. "I just needed to ask you something." She mumbled.

Heather cleared her throat which caught Veronica's attention. "I should really get going. I still have to meet up with Heather." Heather got up, grabbing her notes stuffing them into her back. "I'll see you, Veronica. Thanks again for everything." Heather waved at the girl before leaving the room, head down so she wouldn't make any unnecessary eye contact with Martha. "Sorry about that." Veronica said, continuing to clean things up as Martha nodded, going over to sit on Veronica's bed. "What did you want to ask me?" Veronica said, facing Martha once she was finished. "I... Um..." The girl hesitated and Veronica waited patiently, but Martha shook her head. "It's nothing. I guess I just wanted to see you. We haven't hung out recently." Martha said and Veronica frowned. "Yeah, I'm really sorry about that. I've just been caught up in a lot of things." By a lot of things, Veronica means furthering her friendship with Duke, spending time with JD, tutoring Mac, trying to stay out of Heather Chandler's way and finding ways to get the voices out her head.

"I didn't know you hung out with a Heather." Martha said and Veronica's eyes widened, not wanting Martha to think she was leaving her. "Ah, no, I'm just tutoring her." She quickly cleared up and Martha nodded. "You want to get started on movie night?" Veronica asked after there was a pause of silence between them. "Yeah! I brought The Princess Bride." Martha said, reaching into her little bag and taking out the VHS Tape with a wide smile. "I swear, one day you'll grow sick of that movie." Veronica said with a laugh. "Nope, not a chance." Veronica laughed, getting up from her bed and going downstairs with Martha following behind her. "You put in the tape, I'll pop some Jiffy Pop." Going into the kitchen, taking out a jiffy pop and tearing off the lid before putting it on the stove and turning it on. "Don't burn it." Martha said, walking into the kitchen and leaning against the counter, watching eagerly since she always enjoyed watching the tinfoil rise. "That was one time." Veronica said with a laugh.

"Two, actually." Martha said and Veronica shook her head. "I heard you were friends with the new kid now." Martha said and Veronica paused, before continuing to focus on the pop corn. "Where'd you hear that?" She asked the shorter girl. Everyday after school, Veronica would go to the diner with JD and they'd just eat and talk about whatever was on their minds. So many sirens would go off in her head just by thinking about the boy, but she couldn't help it. He was Veronica's first... Everything, really. It felt like their time together was cut too soon, so you couldn't blame her for giving into temptation. Despite all the messed up things he did, Veronica still loved him. She convinced herself before that she had moved on, but now that he was alive again, she didn't know anymore. He was different. This was a different timeline, what if JD wasn't capable of killing this time? Sure, he was still damaged, but so was she. Maybe they could help each other out and get the happy ending they deserved. 

"I heard a few kids in class and in the halls talking about how they see you two leaving school together." Martha said and Veronica groaned. "Of course. Who knows what they're saying." Veronica said, turning off the stove when the Jiffy Pop was done. "I didn't want to assume anything, I figured I should ask you." Martha said and Veronica huffed, holding the Jiffy Pop over to Martha and letting her flick the top of it which made the tinfoil pop open. "We just started hanging out recently, but yeah, I guess you could say we're friends." Veronica grabbed a bowl from one of their cabinets and started pouring the popcorn in before throwing out the empty jiffy pop container and leading Martha back in the living room where The Princess Bride was waiting to be played on the tv. "It's nice to see you making more friends." 

The words really hit Veronica as she was taken back to her conversation with Martha a week after joining the Heathers. How the girl was worried Veronica had changed after becoming popular. The hurt in Martha's eyes flashed in her mind and Veronica turned to her friend who was focused on the movie. "You know I'm not gonna leave you, right?" Veronica asked, worried that Martha might think her best friend was drifting away from her, a mistake she made before the reset. Despite rekindling her relationship with Martha after all the events, it always felt like Martha kept her at arms length in fear of her leaving again and she hasn't stopped feeling guilty about leaving the one friend that actually mattered to her at the time. "Why do you ask that?" Martha asked, a sense of curiosity lingering in her eyes. 

"I just wanted to make sure." Veronica brushed off with a wave of her hand. "You know, let you know that you're my best friend and I'll always be here for you, regardless of any other friends I may make along the way." The taller girl wrapped her arm around Martha's and pulled her closer and Martha smiled up at her friend. "I really appreciate that." Martha said and Veronica nodded before focusing on the movie. They made little comments throughout the movie, but there really wasn't much to say since they've watched this a hundred times already. Martha sighed wistfully at the screen. "I wish my very own Westley would swoop in and make me his bride." Martha said and Veronica let out a hum of disapproval. "I don't know, Martha. The moustache isn't really doing it for me." Veronica said as she ate some of the popcorn that was nearly gone despite not even being half into the movie.

"Well, I like it. Just imagining my very own prince charming coming to take my hand is enough to make my heart skip a beat." Martha spoke, a twinkle in her eyes as she continued to swoon at Westley who was on the screen. "What happened to Ram? Don't you want him to barge into class shirtless on a horse with wings?" Veronica teased and Martha giggled before shaking her head. "I think I'm good with my very own prince charming." Veronica had to double take at the words, shocked to hear what just came out of Martha's mouth. "Hold on, hold on." Veronica said, grabbing the remote and pausing the movie. "Are you telling me that you've gotten over your crush on Ram? The crush that's lasted twelve years?" Veronica asked with a surprised yet excited look on her face. It was no secret that Ram wasn't one of Veronica's favorite people in the world, but she bit back her tongue since the mere thought of him made Martha happy.

So hearing Martha move on and be open to finding someone better (though the bar Ram set wasn't that very high, so finding someone new should be easy) made Veronica incredibly happy and proud. "Yup." Martha answered simply and Veronica let out a laugh. "Wait, what brought this on?" Veronica asked, shifting in her seat so that she could face Martha who did the same. "I don't know," She said with a shrug, "I guess I just realized that I needed to move on. It's obvious that Ram has more things on his mind than what we had on the kickball field. I can't continue waiting for him when he hasn't waited for me." Martha said and Veronica was shocked from the girl's sudden wisdom. "I'm really proud of you, Martha. It must've taken a lot to come to that conclusion." Veronica said, opening her arms towards the girl who giggled and moved in to hug Veronica. "But what about the party? You were so happy." Veronica asked as they pulled away. 

"I was, I stayed up all night at the party thinking about it. But then he totally forgot about it when we went back to school and acted like how he usually did." Martha explained and Veronica nodded, sending her best friend a sympathetic smile. "I'm really sorry about that, but I'm also really glad that you've finally moved on from such a sleaze bag." Veronica said and the two laughed. "There's plenty of fish in the sea," Martha said as her eyes lit up excitedly, "Maybe I can even find my very own Westley." Veronica laughed, not necessarily at Martha, but because she was just so happy to see her best friend finally moving forward. "I'll make sure to help you in finding one." Veronica said, grabbing the remote and pressing play, the two girls going back to their positions on the couch and watching the movie. "Did you mean it?" Martha asked, looking up at Veronica who gave her a questioning look. "Mean what?" She asked, unsure of what Martha was asking her. "You know, about not leaving me." Martha said and Veronica sent her a small smile. 

"Of course, I meant it. I'll always stay by your side, whether you like it or not. You're stuck with me forever." Veronica said, the last part being more jokingly to lift the air from becoming too serious, succeeding when Martha laughed at her words. "That's fine, I happen to like having you around." Veronica smiled, ruffling Martha's hair before slumping on the couch and eating more popcorn. "I like having you around too.'


	16. Look Who's With Her, Oh My God

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, this is a longer chapter, just know that I didn't proofread at all

Mac took some of her notes from her locker and put it in her bag, shutting it and jumping and yelping in shock to see Heather Chandler waiting next to her locker. "Heather! I didn't see you there." Heather didn't seem to be bothered by the reaction she managed to get out of her best friend. "We're going out, get your shit and let's motor." Heather said as she examined her nails. The girl in yellow shifted on her feet as she tried to think of an excuse. She had another tutoring session with Veronica that day and the next day would be their test and she really couldn't miss a session because she's really been looking forward into getting a high score. Mac wanted to guarantee the seventy or up score that Veronica promised she'd get if she continued in the pace she was going. "That sounds great..." Mac said, trailing off and dodging Chandler's eyes while the girl raised an eyebrow at her.

"Is there a problem?" She asked and Heather was mentally deciding on whether she should lie or not. She sighed and answered, "I have a date with Kurt later." Heather furrowed her eyes at the words. "Again? Didn't you two go out last week?" It was the same excuse Mac used for her tutoring session with Veronica last Thursday. "Yup." Mac said with a nod, knowing that if she said too much, she'd end up exposing herself with her lie. "Where's he taking you this time? Another cow tipping date?" Heather asked, an unimpressed tone present in her voice. "Um, no. Just a regular date." Mac said which made Heather scoff. "How horny can one person be? Couldn't even wait a week." Mac nodded, desperately waiting to get out of this situation. "Yeah... I'm really sorry." Heather waved her hand dismissively at the words. "It's fine, all I had planned was the mall anyway. We can go tomorrow, just keep your schedule free this time." Heather said and Mac had to stop herself from letting out a breath of relief.

"Okay, I'll see you." Heather nodded and Mac walked away, trying to keep up a normal facade, but when she turned the corner, she sighed. Lying wasn't one of her best skills, but she really had to try this time because if Heather found out she was getting tutored by someone she deemed lower than them, then she could get into some real trouble. Shaking her head, Mac lifted her head and started walking again, trying to keep an optimistic point of view as she went to the parking lot. Most of the students parked at the front of the school, but Mac managed to convince Veronica to park at the back where only the stoners, goth and emo kids hung out. She knew they'd keep quiet, the stoners being too high off the ground to even care while the goths and emos were too lost in their own worlds to even bother with the social hierarchy. As she entered the back parking lot, Mac smiled at the sight of Veronica, but it slowly fell as she saw who the girl was with.

Veronica leaned against her mom's car, talking to Duke who was sitting on the hood of her jeep. Usually they only talked in the library, but they managed to run into each other there, so might as well. They were at this weird standstill, not really knowing if they were friends or just acquaintances, but both acknowledged that they at least enjoyed each other's company. "Bullshit, Breakfast Club was fucking amazing." Duke said with a scoff while Veronica sent her an amused look. "Sure, it was good, but there's definitely better movies out there." Veronica said which made Duke narrow her eyes at her. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I can trust the opinion of someone who actually liked Gremlins." Veronica laughed at that. "It was really funny, alright." Duke rolled her eyes. "That shit gave me nightmares, no thank you." The sound of someone clearing their throat caught the girl's attention. Duke's eyes widened at the sight of the girl in yellow in front of them.

She hasn't talked to any of the Heathers since she got kicked out. It was actually something she actively avoided, not wanting to deal with Chandler's wrath and the awkwardness with Mac. "H-Hey..." Mac said with an awkward wave and Duke looked away, hopping off the hood of her jeep and going over to the driver's seat. "I'm gonna go." Duke mumbled and Veronica nodded, understanding the sudden shift in her mood as she watched Heather enter her car, starting it and driving away, purposely avoiding the gaze of Mac that was on her the whole time. "Hey." Veronica said, snapping Mac out of her trance, watching Duke's car drive away from the corner of her eyes as she faced Veronica. "I didn't know you guys were friends..." Mac said, walking over to Veronica who shrugged her shoulders. "We talk sometimes." Veronica knew she shouldn't tell Mac much. There was a chance that Mac would tell Chandler about seeing Heather hang out with a 'nobody' and it'd only make things worse for her. Veronica didn't want to do that, especially since she was the reason why things were bad for her in the first place.

"Oh..." Mac said with a nod, not knowing what to think about that. Westerberg was a small place, but she didn't know it was that small. What were the chances that both her and Heather had connections to the same nerd? "Anyway, you ready to go?" Veronica asked, pushing herself off the car and going to the passenger side to open the door for Mac who perked up once she remembered why she was there in the first place. "Right, studying! Yes, I'm ready." Mac said as she went over to Veronica and entered the car, thanking the girl as she closed the door and made her way to the driver's seat. "Did you go over the notes I gave you last time?" Veronica asked as she started her car. "Yup, I read them at home after practice." Veronica nodded as she drove off. "When did you and Heather start talking?" Mac asked, unable to hold in her curiosity. She hasn't seen Duke at all these days and she really did miss her friend. Even in their shared classes, Heather wouldn't even glance at her and whenever she did see her, she always looked upset.

She hasn't been able to talk to her since she wouldn't even know what to say and Heather told her not to talk to her too. Mac just wanted to know if Heather was okay. Veronica expected this question, but she couldn't exactly say that she met Heather after helping her when she was vomiting by giving her a forged excuse note. "We ran into each other at the library at school." Was all Veronica said. Well, her and Heather did officially start talking there, it was more of a half truth than anything. "Oh... Is she doing okay?" Veronica admired how Mac actually asked about how Heather was doing. She knew that Mac and Duke weren't as close as Mac and Chandler, but Veronica knew Duke liked Mac a lot more than Heather. She was taken back to a time where she was eating in the cafeteria with Mac and Martha and she'd often catch Mac staring at where Duke was sitting with the country club kids. Mac never really admitted it to them, but Veronica knew that she really missed Heather despite the horrible treatment since they were friends at one point.

"She's doing as well as she can be." Veronica answered with a sigh. Sure, Duke's mood has uplifted a bit since their talk in the girl's bathroom, but how happy can a person be after being kicked out of the most popular clique in school because you vomited on the queen bee's shoes in front of a bunch of other popular people at a party? They continued making small talk as Veronica drove before they reached her house. They made their way to Veronica's room and started setting everything out on her bed like they usually did. Notebooks laid out in front of them. "Okay, let's start off with..."Mac didn't fully hear what Veronica said, simply nodding as she leaned against Veronica's headboard while the brunette took out her flash cards. It was what they usually did, but Mac's head wasn't all that there that day. Seeing Duke after what felt like so long felt so strange and she couldn't stop thinking about it.

She still managed to answer Veronica's questioned. Granted, she got some of them wrong, but she remembered enough to understand what answer she's supposed to be looking for. Just from the look in her eyes, Mac could tell that Heather was scared to see her and it made her upset. To her, she's been nothing but a good friend to Heather, so the fear was unnecessary. If it was Chandler, maybe, but she doesn't understand why Heather felt scared. Ever since she came to the group, all Mac's done is try to be friends with her and after awhile, they did end up becoming friends, so why was Heather looking at her as if she would hurt her? "Heather? You there?" Veronica asked and Mac hummed, not fully processing the question. Seeing the dazed look on her face, Veronica put down the cards. "Let's take a break." Veronica said as she got up which caught Heather's attention. "What?" She asked as she looked up to see Veronica fixing all their stuff. "I have a different lesson plan in mind today. Want to try it out?" 

Mac was confused. In their study sessions, they've been doing a routine and though they were a bit plain, they worked and Mac was able to comprehend everything Veronica was teaching her since she was really good at explaining, but she doesn't understand why she suddenly decided to switch things up. "Um... Sure?" She asked, deciding to go through with it despite not understanding why. "Alright, grab your things, we're going on a little field trip." Veronica said and Mac nodded, getting all her notes and putting them back in her bag before following Veronica out her room. They ended up back in her car and she didn't even care where Veronica was taking her, trusting the girl enough to not just bring her to the woods and suddenly reveal she's an axe murderer. It just gave her more time to think about Heather. 

It was more lonely when she wasn't around. Sure, she had Heather, but she had her own thing going on and she just had to wait until Heather told her what to do. Talking to Heather was also hard since she usually wasn't one for conversation that wasn't about gossip. With Heather, she could actually talk about the things that were on her mind without being dismissed. Duke actually listened to her little rambles and stories and sometimes Duke would even talk to her about what's on her mind. Talking to Heather was often fun since it wasn't like talking to a wall who would only reply when they felt like it. She doesn't want Heather to suddenly stop. Sure, they weren't allowed to talk now and Mac understood that, but what about after Heather comes back to their group? Would she still avoid eye contact with her like she did in the parking lot? Heather didn't want that. She really liked Heather as a friend, just because their friendship was on hold at the moment didn't mean it had to end. Thinking about that only made her more upset.

"Alright, we're here." Mac didn't even know how long Veronica was driving, all she knows is that they were parked in front of a small building she's never seen before. "Where are we?" Mac asked as Veronica shut off the car and unbuckled her seat belts. Veronica didn't answer and got out of the car, going over to the other side to open the door for Mac who thanked her and got out, a confused look still present on her face. It was when she was out of the car did she finally see where they were. "An arcade?" She asked. Veronica nodded, making sure the doors were locked before turning to Mac with a smile. "Come on, it'll be fun." Still not understanding why Veronica took her there, Heather simply nodded and followed Veronica into the colorful arcade. The place wasn't empty, but it wasn't full either. There were a few kids with their parents and some kids their age just hanging around and having fun. It was fairly dark inside, but all the lights from the machines somehow made the room brighter than it seemed. It was mesmerizing to see, all the machines lined up everywhere emitting beautiful colors.

"Where'd you find this place?" Mac asked as they approached the counter. Veronica looked around at the familiar place before smiling at Mac. "A friend and I found this place." In all honesty, Veronica and Heather found it before Veronica was sent back in time. Mac kept talking about wanting to find a place to hang out with her friends where only they would go to and not one of those hang out spots where everyone would go to. So Veronica suggested they go on a drive to try and find some place they would like and they managed to stumble onto this place. It was on the outskirts of Sherwood and it was more of an underground place, but the people there were good and all seemed comfortable. They hung out there every weekend after studying and they'd always have a little game to see who'd gain the most tickets by the end of the day. Veronica got their tokens and handed them to Mac who took them, continuing to look around in awe at the place. 

"I've never been to an arcade before." Veronica knew this, it was exactly what Mac told her when they first found the place. Apparently Chandler always told her that arcades were dirty places for nerds and gambling addicts who couldn't afford to go to casinos. She never really had the chance to go to places like this. "Well, that changes today." Veronica said, her eyes falling on the ball dropper game. "Come on, let's start with genetics." Veronica said and Mac furrowed her eyebrows but followed anyway. "What's genetics usually associated with?" Veronica asked as she started putting some tokens in the machine. "Um... Chromosomes, right?" Mac answered and Veronica nodded. "That and Heredity." The two watched as the plate on the bottom of the machine with holes start spinning around, each hole being labeled with a number. "I keep telling you, that's the witch thing." Mac said and Veronica laughed. "Once again, that's heretics." Mac hummed, disagreeing but letting it be.

"We talked about genetic disorders, right?" Veronica said as she watched the plate spin, her hand hovering over the button while Mac watched. "Yeah?" The blonde asked, still not understanding what the girl was getting at. "Some genetic disorders are caused by too much chromosomes and too less." Veronica hit the button and a ball from the pipe dropped into the machine, bouncing around the place before rolling around the plate and landing in a hole that was labeled twenty-one. "Aw, you didn't hit the jackpot..." Mac said with a pout. "That's okay, but do you know what genetic disorder is related to that number?" Veronica asked and Mac stared up at her, blinking as she tried to process the question. "Oh, we're still doing that, right." Mac said and Veronica shook her head playfully before sending Mac a look while the girl thought about the question. Looking back to everything Veronica taught her and trying to remember whatever it was the girl was asking her. 

"...Down syndrome?" Mac asked and Veronica smiled at her. "That is correct. Down Syndrome, aka Trisomy Twenty-One, where two parents carry chromosome number twenty-one which causes a child to have three of the same chromosome." Mac nodded, feeling glad that she got the question correctly even though if it was a bit on the spot. "If you can answer questions at an arcade, you can answer questions in a classroom." Mac grinned, happy to see that she was able to actually learn something and keep it in her mind outside of when she's supposed to use it. "Let's continue on." Veronica and Mac continued the day by spending time in the arcade, having fun while Veronica kept Mac on her toes with sudden questions. Some of the questions Mac didn't get, so Veronica had to remind her before asking again a few minutes later when Mac actually remembered. It was fun for the two of them. Playing games and laughing about whatever and Veronica was happy to see that she got Mac out of her own head. 

"It's getting late, we should go." Veronica said as she checked her swatch. "Wait!" Mac said as she gasped, making Veronica look up and watch Heather go over to the counter with all the prizes on display. "Veronica, how many tickets do we have?" Mac asked, turning to Veronica who was holding all their tickets. "Um... I think two hundred?" Veronica asked while Mac looked at all the giant stuffed toys with a look of awe. "How many tickets for the blue gorilla?" Mac asked, pointing at the tiny gorilla stuffed toy with a grumpy look on her face. "That's seven-hundred and fifty tickets." The boy at the counter said and Mac pouted. "What can we get with two hundred tickets?" Granted, they did kind of cheat to get the tickets. Since Mac was small, they took advantage of the basketball game and just made her reach over and drop all the balls in the hoop which was where they gained most of their tickets from. They were lucky they weren't kicked out. "Here, I'll get you something way cooler than a stuffed toy." Veronica said, handing the tickets over to the boy and pointing at something beneath the counter that was on display behind the glass.

Once she got it, Veronica turned to Heather and gave her the toy. "Wow... It's so colorful and pretty." Mac said as she grabbed both ends of the toy and pulled it apart. "It's a rainbow slinky. Way better than a stuffed toy, and it does tricks too." Veronica said, leading Mac outside the arcade and sitting down on the steps at the entrance. Veronica positioned the slinky at the top before pulling the edge down. The two girls watched the slinky walk down the stares, Heather watching with an excited look on her face. "That's so cool. How come I've never seen this before." This was one of the things Veronica showed her when they first went to the arcade as well. It was amusing to see Heather having the same reaction to these things, she never really changes. "It's your prize, you keep it." Veronica said, walking down the stairs and grabbing the slinky before handing it to Mac. "Thanks." The blonde said with a grin as she followed Veronica back into her car.

The two talked as Veronica drove Mac home. Rather than spending the rest of the day in Veronica's room, going over flash cards and notes, they ended up spending it at the arcade having fun while still making progress with Mac's studying. It was only then did Mac notice that all her previous worries about Duke had faded. She turned to Veronica who was quietly humming to the music from the radio, wondering if that was what the taller girl had intended. She would consider Veronica a friend. They talked, and she helped her, so why wouldn't she see her as a friend? Especially after all the fun they had that day. When the car stopped, Mac waited for a second before taking off her seat belt. "I'll see you in class tomorrow. You better keep your promise and get a higher score than me." Veronica said, patting the girl's shoulder which made Mac smile. "Thanks." Veronica smiled at the words. "No problem. It's never too late to learn." Veronica said and Heather shook her head. "No, not that. Well, yes that, but something else." The taller girl furrowed her eyebrows slightly while tilting her head in confusion.

"Okay... What are you thanking me for then?" She asked and Mac looked down, playing with the rainbow slinky in her hands. "For taking me out. I just had a lot on my mind after seeing Heather and taking me to the arcade really helped clear my mind up. I also really had fun. I can't believe I missed out on all of that for so long. I don't think I ever would've been to a place like that on my own. So thanks for that too. Just... Thanks for everything." Veronica smiled. "It's no problem. But if you want to make it up to me, get a score higher than seventy-five. We'll call it even then." Mac grinned at that and nodded. "If I get a ninety and above, will you take me back to the arcade?" Veronica laughed at the words. "You sound like a child, but sure. We can go back to the arcade if you get a score over ninety." Mac smiled, leaning over to give Veronica a quick hug which shocked the girl before opening the door and getting out. "I'll see you tomorrow!" Mac said as she shut the door and made her way inside. Veronica shook her head in amusement, waiting outside and watching until Mac got in her house before driving off.

Mac played with the slinky in her hand as she went up the stairs, her mind filled with buzzing thoughts about her day. The blonde mentally told herself that she was going to study once she got to her own room. She really did want that ninety. Not just for the arcade, but for herself. For once in her life, she felt like she was doing something and it felt weird and scary, but so incredible at the same time. Heather's learnt more in the few days she's spent with Veronica than her whole life and it was so bizarre. It only made her look even more forward to her next study session with Veronica. If it was always gonna be this fun, then she should've done this whole studying thing a long time ago because she feels ecstatic.

The moment Heather entered her room did that ecstatic feeling disappear as she felt her heart drop at the sight of a girl in red sitting on her bed, seemingly waiting for her. Red tainted lips smirked at her as the girl got up, Mac's eyes darting down in instinct as the sound of heels clicking filled the room. "So... Care to explain why Kurt came up to me earlier today, asking me out on a date when you said you two were going out today?"


	17. That Freak's Not Your Friend

Mac stood frozen in the middle of her room with Heather standing right in front of her, staring her down with her glare. "Well?" She spoke, still waiting for the blonde's answer to her previous question. "I..." She didn't know how to answer, and how could she? Any answer she would give, Mac was sure Heather would be angry with her either way. "You lied." Heather said in a calm voice which only scared Mac even more. "I didn't mean to." Mac managed to get out which made Heather raise her eyebrow as she gave the shorter blonde a questioning look. "So you agree that you lied?" Chandler asked and Mac opened her mouth to reply, but once she saw the look on Heather's face, she simply sighed, knowing that there really wasn't a point. "Yes..." She said tiredly, fiddling with her slinky which caught Heather's eye. "What's that?" Heather asked, walking over to Mac. "It's a slin-" Mac started, her sentence cutting off when Heather grabbed the toy from her hands. "Ky..." She mumbled while Heather stared at it.

"Where did you even get this?" Heather asked, scrunching her face up at the toy. "I got it... At an arcade." Lying would be useless at this point. Mac only got lucky before, but it didn't take a genius to see that she wasn't the best liar in the world. "An arcade? Just for a little toy? You could've just asked me and we could've bought you one, you didn't need to go to a dirty place like that." Heather handed Mac the slinky back with a grimace on her face. "So that's where you went. Who was it?" Heather asked, going back to sit on Mac's bed while the blonde stared at her with a confused look. "What do you mean, who?" Mac asked and Heather scoffed, giving a look as if asking if she really needed to ask. "You would never go to a place like that on your own. So who was it? Who was important enough to make you lie to me and ditch me to go to a nasty arcade?" Mac felt her body tense at the question.

She couldn't expose Veronica. It would be bad for both of them, but Mac was already used to Heather. She could take it since she's been doing that for years now and she's still fine, but Veronica's different. Veronica doesn't even know Heather, plus she's a loser, so telling Heather about Veronica tutoring her and taking her to an arcade would paint a big red target on her back and after everything Veronica's done for her, the last thing Mac wanted was to put her in line of danger. "I really can't say..." Mac said, sending Heather pleading eyes which usually worked on the girl when she wanted something. "So now you're keeping secrets from me too?" Mac sighed, realizing that it wouldn't work this time. "You have to promise me you won't do anything to them if I tell you who they are." Mac said and Heather raised her eyebrows. "And making demands." Mac whined at the words. "Heather!" Mac exclaimed which made the girl across from her roll from her eyes. 

"It depends on who the person is." Heather said and Mac paused, trying to see if Heather was being serious or just teasing her, but when she couldn't read her, the shorter girl slumped her shoulders, seeing that she had no choice. "I..." Well, she didn't have to tell the whole truth. "Remember that girl who helped me out with my test?" Heather's face hardened at the mention of the girl. "Go on." She said, not liking where the conversation was going. "Well, we started hanging out, and she took me to the arcade today... So yeah..." Mac lied. Well, not really. Technically, her and Veronica were hanging out, she just left out the part of hanging out actually being tutoring. Mac knew Heather would be fine with her hanging out with other people, but one word about being tutored would mean not being able to hang out with Veronica again. She enjoyed the girl’s company too much to be able to do that. "Who is this girl, anyway?" Heather asked, despite already knowing exactly who they were talking about.

"The girl in my class, silly!" Mac tried to play it off with her playful tone, but just by the look on Heather's face, the shorter blonde knew that her attempt of evading the question had failed. "Her name's Veronica." Mac said and Heather hummed in thought, examining her nails to act nonchalant and bored with the situation. After the intimidation scheme in the hallway, Heather thought she scared Veronica away from the other Heathers for good. She certainly didn't expect the little rat to scurry her way back to them. "So you ditched me, your best friend, to hang out with a nobody." Heather stated more than asked, the words causing a frown to appear on Mac's face. "Don't say it like that. Besides, Veronica's my friend." Mac said, wanting to defend the girl who wasn't there to defend herself instead of letting Heather talk bad about her. "She just wants to use you for your popularity." Heather countered which only made Mac's frown deepen.

"You don't know that." Heather said, her hands going up to hug her body as she shifted on her feet. "But I do." Chandler said with a shrug, making Mac's eyebrows furrow in confusion and curiosity. "How?" Chandler chuckled at the question, standing up and going over to Mac before stopping right in front of her. "Did you know your little friend Veronica is also very good friends with Heather?" Shock made its way onto Mac's features after hearing this. Was she the last one to know about this? If so, how come? No, there was no problem with this, Heather's just trying to make her feel this way. "I do know." Mac countered, raising her chin at Heather who raised an eyebrow. Well, she certainly didn't expect that. "And I don't care. Veronica can hang out with whoever she wants. It just so happens that she's hanging out with me and Heather." It was all coincidental, that was it. The Heathers shared a lot of the same friends and this wasn't any different.

It was when a smirk appeared on Chandler's face did Mac start to grow worried. "It's funny. Last week, she approached me in the hallway." Heather said and Mac tried to keep a confident face. "And?" She asked, staying still as Heather came closer to her. "She told me that since she's already acquainted with you and Heather, that she should formally be part of The Heathers.” Heather felt her resolve weaken as she listened to what Heather said. “T-That’s not true. Veronica’s never even mentioned anything about The Heathers.” Mac said and Heather felt satisfied at the quiver in her voice. She was getting through to her and it would all play in her favor, just like it always does. “Of course she wouldn’t say anything to your face. But it’s up to you on what you believe. But are you really going to trust this nobody you met a few weeks ago, or me? Your best friend who has been there for you since the very beginning.” Distraught was written all over Mac’s face, feeling her head hurt from how conflicted she felt.

Veronica wouldn’t… Would she? She doesn’t really know anything about Veronica, now that she thinks about it. Heather did have a point too, she’s only known Veronica for a little while. She had no reason to not put her faith in Heather since she was right, she has been there for her since the beginning. “Did… Did she really say that?” Heather smirked, knowing that she had fully gotten to Mac, placing a comforting hand on her best friend’s shoulder. “Yes, and she seemed so eager too. Of course, I didn’t accept her. I wasn’t about to let an outsider into our circle, especially not one who’s manipulating my friends in order to get in.” It felt so off, but Heather had no reason to lie to her. Veronica was so nice to her, ever since the beginning, but if all of this was true, then knowing that the only reason Veronica even spent time with her was only because she wanted to become popular hurt Mac a lot.

Seeing the sad look on Mac’s face, Heather sighed and pulled the smaller girl towards her, wrapping her arms around her in order to comfort the girl who was probably feeling so confused in the moment. But no matter. There won’t be anything to be confused about after this. “It’s okay, Mac,” Heather said in a soft tone and Mac felt herself relax into Heather’s hold, reciprocating the hug and holding on tightly to her friend as she laid her head on her chest, “I’m sorry if you’re upset about the whole thing, but you needed to know that this Veronica girl isn’t as good as you think she is.You just need to remember who your real friends are. I’ll always be here to protect you from bad people like Veronica, you know that, right?” Heather said and Mac lightly nodded, making Heather smile at the action. “I just can’t believe she would just do that. I never thought Veronica would be like that, she was so nice to me.” Mac said and Heather nodded, placing her hands on Mac’s shoulders and lightly releasing her from the hug. “I think you need a distraction.” Heather said with a smile.

Mac stared up at her best friend, feeling the gentleness of Heather’s touch as she moved her hands up from her neck to cup her face. This was the girl who she’s known longer than anyone else in her life. This was the girl who knew her better than she knew herself. This was the girl who’s been there for her for every bad moment in her life in the same way she was there for her. Heather was the only constant thing in her life and there was no reason to doubt her. If she said Veronica was a bad person, then there was a large chance that she was, because Heather always seemed to know what was best for her. Even despite the nagging feeling in the back of her mind telling her something was wrong, she’s putting her trust in Heather, because Heather was her best friend. Right, she just had to remember that. Heather cared for her and she just wanted to show it, just like she always has.

As Heather placed her lips on Mac, the smaller girl relished the feeling of Heather against her. Heather cared about Mac, Heather only wanted to protect her because she was Heather’s best friend. She’ll always be Heather’s best friend.  
__________

“Boo.” Veronica snickered as she looked up from the papers on the table to see Duke sitting down on the chair next to her. “Oh, you scared me so much. The sound of your heels totally didn’t give you away.” Veronica said sarcastically and Heather laughed, playfully pushing the girl’s shoulder. “Shut up.” She said and Veronica rolled her eyes playfully at her before going back to the papers in front of her. “Why weren’t you at the spot? I waited for like fifteen minutes thinking you were just late.” Duke asked and Veronica hummed as she read through the work sheet she was holding. “I needed a table for this. If you’re afraid of being seen, don’t worry. Nobody goes to this section either.” Heather scoffed at the words. “You could’ve given me a heads up. I looked like an idiot just walking around trying to look for you.” Veronica turned to look at Duke. “You found me, didn’t you?” A teasing smile made its way on Veronica’s face as Heather playfully pushed her shoulder once again.

Going back to what she was doing earlier, Heather leaned over to look at the papers Veronica was working on. “You’re grading tests? I knew you were a nerd, but I didn’t know you were a teacher’s pet.” Heather said, taking one of the papers and looking through them as well. “I’m not kissing ass for some teacher.” Veronica said, taking the paper that Heather took which made Duke scrunch her face up at Veronica who stuck her tongue out at her. “I’m tutoring Heather, if you really must know. I’m just grading the stuff I made her answer.” Heather felt her body tense at the mention of the girl. “Right. I forgot you were tutoring her..” Veronica hummed once more, marking the answers while Heather leaned back and simply watched. “Why does Heather need tutoring anyway? Her grades are fine.” The taller girl snorted at the statement, not lifting her head up from the tests she was marking. “Heather gets forties and fifties on her tests, I wouldn’t call that fine.” Heather opened her mouth and paused for a second, realizing what Veronica had just said. 

“Well, yeah, that’s bad, but she doesn’t need high test scores to get high grades.” Veronica put down her pen, now interested in what Duke was trying to say as she sent the other girl a confused look. “Okay, I seriously don’t understand the logic in that statement.” It was now Heather’s turn to become confused. “Wait, do you seriously not know?” She asked and Veronica turned in her seat to properly face the girl. “Know about what?” Veronica didn’t understand what Heather was trying to get at. How could someone with low test scores have high grades? Now that she thinks about it, she does remember Mac saying she has a three-point-three gpa which didn’t make any sense at all. “Well, Mac’s family is one of, if not the richest family in Westerberg.” Heather said and Veronica’s eyes widened in realization. “Are you saying that Mac’s family is paying the school so that she could get high grades?” Heather sent her a look as if to say that it was obvious. “How else would Westerberg get all that budget for the football and cheerleading team? It’s a miracle the football team is still even a thing seeing as how shit they are.”

No wonder Heather even made it as a senior. It was something she always questioned, but Heather always brushed it off and told her that she would barely get by at the end of each year. “Why didn’t I know about this.” Veronica mumbled, mostly to herself, but it seemed like Duke caught every word. “I assumed everybody knew. It’s not exactly a secret, and some people have put two and two together since Heather’s dad visits every now and then to watch the teams practice.” Duke said and Veronica furrowed her eyebrows, deep in thought about the whole situation. Veronica opened her mouth to speak when the bell rang. “Shit, I have to go. I still have to finish my homework before the teacher comes into the room. I’ll see you later, Ronnie.” Veronica didn’t even process the words as she continued thinking about what Heather had told her about Mac. The only reason she was even there was because of her dad’s money, but how about all that talk about college? How come Heather never came to her or Martha about this her first life? She thought they at least trusted each other enough to share that type of information. 

Veronica had so many questions running through her head, but none of them could be answered since her Mac wasn’t with her in this timeline. Not wanting to be late, Veronica fixed her stuff and left the library, her mind still wandering about what she had just learned about Mac. Maybe she didn’t know the girl as much as she thought she did. Then again, her Mac probably thought she knew everything about Veronica too, so she wasn’t one to talk. Speaking of the girl, Veronica saw Mac walk down the halls and she sent the girl a small smile. To her shock, the blonde eyed her warily before quickling walking away from her, head down without any other attempt to make eye contact. That was weird. Usually Mac sent her at least a small nod when they passed each other in the halls. They would never speak to each other in public due to Heather’s circumstances, but they would at least acknowledge each other subtly since they were friends. Heather was probably just having a bad day, she didn’t always have to be happy, after all. 

The brunette shook her head, trying to push away all those distracting thoughts since she was wasting time standing there instead of actually getting all the books she needed for her next class. Barely making it in time, Veronica entered her class right before the bell rang, going over to her usual seat next to Mac who she saw was keeping her head down. She’ll make sure to ask about that later. The teacher started handing out their tests and Veronica wasted no time in answering it, practically skimming over the whole thing before flipping her test over and leaning back against her chair. She looked over to Mac who was going through it quickly as well. When she was done, Mac went back to the first part and started looking through everything once again and Veronica couldn’t help but feel proud to see Mac taking her advice. She went from struggling to get through the first portion of a test, to going through it with ease and even making sure she got them correct.

When the class ended, Veronica and the rest of their class went over to the front and handed their tests in. When Veronica caught sight of Mac next to her, handing in her test as well, she smiled and turned to her. “Hey, how’d you-” Veronica wasn’t even able to finish her sentence when Mac ignored her, turning away and walking over to the door. The brunette furrowed her eyes at the weird reaction when her body became tense, blood running cold as she saw who was at the door. She had to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating, but by the lack of rope and blue lips, she knew that what she was seeing was real. Heather smirked at her as Mac went over to her, linking their arms and walking away as she kept her eyes on Veronica. Not smiling at her, refusing to make eye contact with her and just blatantly ignoring her? Heather must’ve said something to Mac and whatever it was, it definitely wasn’t good.


	18. By The Way, You Were My First

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: F-Slur
> 
> Also this went from really gay to really depressing real quick

A little nine year old girl was curled up in the corner of her room, listening to her parents shout at each other and flinching whenever they got too loud or if she heard something get destroyed. Heather didn’t understand why her parents were like that. Mac always told her about how her parents would stare at each other lovingly and laugh at each other's jokes, but Heather has never seen her parents do anything of the sort. Maybe from her mother to her father, but her dad never seemed to feel the same way in comparison to how her mom looked at him. It’s been like this for the longest time and Heather wonders if this is how every family functions or if it was just hers. When the shouting got louder, Heather felt her body start to shake in fear and sadness, her hands going up to cover her ears as she cried to herself, wishing they would stop.

A tapping on the window caught her attention and Heather jumped, head shooting up to the source of the noise only to relax at the sight of her friend, sitting on the branch of the tree next to her room with a worried look on her face. Willing herself to get up, Heather went over to the window and opened in for Heather who stayed where she was. “What are you doing here? I told you to stop climbing the tree, you almost fell last time, I don’t want you getting hurt.” Mac smiled at her best friend’s concern, but it quickly turned into a frown once her ears caught the shouting from inside. She could already hear the shouting when she was walking to Heather’s house, but the volume was so much higher inside than out. “You didn’t pick up the phone when I called you. I got worried.” Heather opened her mouth to reply, but the sound of plates crashing against the wall made her jump and yelp.

Mac surged forward and wrapped her arms around her friend’s body, letting Heather bury her face in the crook of her shoulder as she rubbed her back in comfort. “It’s okay, it’s okay.” She whispered as Heather gripped her shirt tightly, still slightly shaking from the shock. “Hey,” Mac said, pulling away and lightly chuckling when Heather pulled her back in. “Do you wanna get ice cream? We’ll even get that gross flavor you like so much.” Mac said, happy to hear a laugh come out from Heather. “Mint chocolate chip ice cream isn’t that bad.” Mac’s face scrunched up at the face. “It’s chocolate toothpaste, I keep telling you this.” Heather laughed, but then flinched at the sound of her dad screaming profanities at her mom. “Come on, ice cream’s waiting.” Mac said and Heather nodded, looking up at Mac who had let go and skidded farther to the branch, holding her hand out for her best friend. “Thank you.” Mac grinned at this and Heather felt her heart flutter at the sight, a feeling she’s never felt before. “I’ll always be here for you."  
__________

Twelve year old Chandler was laying on Mac’s bed, staring at the ceiling while the shorter blonde was sitting by her desk, lightly spinning around on her chair that came with wheels. “Did you hear about Courtney and Jake?” Mac asked and Chandler shook her head at the question. “What happened?” She sat up, looking over to Mac who stopped spinning. “Someone caught them kissing in the broom closet earlier.” Chandler made a face of disgust at that. “God, what a whore.” Mac gave her a look of confusion, tilting her head at the words. “What’s a whore?” She asked and Chandler shrugged, not really knowing how to answer that. “I don’t know, but my dad says it all the time.” Chandler said and Mac nodded, moving around in her chair. “Have you ever kissed someone, Heather?” Mac aske and Chandler let out a snort at that. “No. If I did, you would’ve heard about it by now.” Mac hummed at that. “I wonder what my first kiss would be like.” Mac wondered aloud. “Well, don’t get your hopes up. I heard that first kisses aren’t as good as everyone thinks they are."

“Well, that’s because people waste it on the first person who’s willing. I want my first kiss to be someone I really trust and love.” Mac said, getting up from her chair and going over to the other side of her bed and laying next to Chandler, their heads next to each other as they stared at the ceiling. “What? Someone like Kurt?” Heather was aware of Mac’s crush on the dumb jock and she was also aware that Kurt reciprocated her feelings, but she was also aware that Kurt probably only liked Heather cause she was (as she heard him call her multiple times) ‘hot’. Though she couldn’t exactly blame Kurt for thinking like that, she couldn’t help but feel disdained after finding out, knowing that her best friend could do so much better than that meat for brains. “No, not him. I like Kurt, but I don’t really know enough about him to trust him. I wouldn’t say I love him either.” Heather couldn’t help but feel relief at that. “Do you even know what love is?” Heather asked and Mac smiled, turning her head to face the taller girl.

“I love you.” Heather almost choked on air at that, feeling the familiar flutter in her heart along with the butterflies in her stomach. Her face heated up as she sat up and turned to Mac who sat up as well. “That’s different.” She said and Mac couldn’t help but smile at the flustered state Heather was in. This would often happen whenever Mac got too close to Heather or when she complimented her and Mac couldn’t help but find it cute, especially since Heather would always act like it didn’t bother her when she pointed it out. “How come?” Mac asked, tilting her head innocently and Heather sighed wistfully at the sight before shaking her head, remembering the topic at hand. “We’re best friends, plus we’re girls. That’s like the opposite of romantic love.” Mac shrugged at the words, not really seeing Heather’s point. “So? I trust you more than any other person I know and I love you.” Once again, Heather felt her face heating up at that. “What, so you want to have your first kiss with me?” Heather said jokingly, but part of her knew that she just wanted to suggest it. Her crush on her best friend was something she never wanted to admit, but she was aware that it was there.

Mac was the only person who was there for her whenever things were hard, and they were always hard. Having her around almost always made things better for her and as much as she wanted it to stop, she couldn’t stop the butterflies she would feel whenever the tiny blonde was around her. She’s had to stop herself from when she found herself staring at Mac longer than a best friend should and she’s had to keep a no straight face whenever Mac would get up close to her, and this happened a lot because Mac was just a naturally clingy girl. These feelings didn’t stop with Mac either. Heather would also feel these things whenever any girl hugged her or complimented her, but they weren’t as intense as the things she felt around Mac. This scared her a lot. Heather knew a lot about this topic since it was one she heard about a lot. Kids in the halls calling other people fags to bring them down. Her dad even banned her from listening to Queen, saying he didn’t want any queer music playing in his household. What’s worse is that Heather has never felt this way with any boy she’s met. 

Boys were mundane and silly to her while girls were beautiful and wondrous and these types of thoughts were what scared Heather the most. It was wrong and if anyone found out she felt this way, she’d be brought down to the dirt, just like that one boy from their class who told Ram that he liked him. One week later, the boy moved out of Sherwood from the treatment of not only his classmates, but sometimes even the teachers. Heather was brought back down to Earth from her internal panic when she heard Mac speak up. “Why not?” She said with a shrug and Heather felt her heart space quicken. “I don’t see a problem with it. I wouldn’t want my first kiss to be with anyone else, really. Like I said, I trust you and I love you.” Mac said and Heather felt a large amount of bliss and fear surge through her just from those words. “I feel the same with you.” Heather’s heart hammered against her chest even more when Mac moved close to her, kneeling right in front of her as she took her hands. This was getting into really dangerous territory, but Heather didn’t want any of this to stop, not when Mac was smiling at her the way she was.

“Would it be okay if I kissed you?” Heather’s head was spinning with so many thoughts. If Heather had known that this would be the outcome of hanging out at Mac’s house that day, then she… Actually, she doesn’t know if she’d stop herself or jump at the opportunity. This was something she wanted for so long but never had the guts to face. But now that Mac was right in front of her, waiting for her answer, she couldn’t help but turn a blind eye to every siren in her head reminding her that this was bad and that this could ruin her. “Yes.” She said, giving into her feelings as Mac smiled at her, reaching up to cup her face and moving closer. God, this was actually happening. She was about to have her first kiss and it would be with her lifelong best friend. As Mac leaned in closer, Heather felt herself start to panic. There was still time, if she wanted to pull away she could still do it. Mac wouldn’t take it personally, she knows that. Just a light push and this could be over and she wouldn’t have to worry about anything else.

All these thoughts stopped when Heather felt soft lips land on hers. Without even noticing, Heather closed her eyes and started moving her lips while Mac did the same. Everything she said about first kisses being bad, she immediately takes back as she revels in the feeling of the fireworks bursting inside her. This was better than she could’ve ever imagined, hands shakily reaching up to hold onto Mac’s waist, gently pulling her closer. When they pulled away, they were panting, foreheads against each other as they stared in each other’s eyes. “Can we do that again?” Mac asked and Heather nodded eagerly before the two met in the middle once again.

The next day at school, Mac happily skipped in, face lighting up at the sight of her best friend getting her things from her locker. “Hi!” Mac said happily, leaning her face close to Heather’s. Noticing this, Heather’s eyes widened, quickly leaning in and stepping back, eyes darting around the halls to see if anyone saw and even though it seemed like no one did, she couldn’t help but feel paranoid. “What are you doing?” She hissed while Mac tilted her head in the same cute way she always did, but this time, Heather had to force the butterflies down, not being able to risk her feelings being seen by anyone. “Trying to kiss you?” She asked and Heather quickly placed her hand over Mac’s mouth, confusing the girl even more. “Sh! Do you want everyone to hear you?” She asked frustratedly and Mac frowned and Heather saw despite the hand covering half the girl’s face. Feeling bad for making her best friend upset, Heather sighed and took her hand off. “Come on, let’s talk somewhere private.”

Heather tilted her head in one direction and Mac nodded hesitantly, following the girl by her side as they walked to wherever Heather was taking her. Mac reached her hand to hold Heather’s like she always did, but she couldn’t help but feel a twinge in her chest when Heather moved her hand away. She looked up at the girl to see if she had any reaction, only to see Heather keeping her eyes forward. Mac looked down, not understanding why Heather was so upset all of a sudden. When they reached their destination, Heather glanced around to see if anyone was looking before opening the door to an empty classroom and grabbing Mac’s hand to pull her in. Mac felt her heart feel lighter at the touch, especially when Heather didn’t let go once they were in the room. “So what’s wrong?” Mac asked, lightly swinging their hands back and forth while Heather shifted on her feet in discomfort. 

“You can’t just do that.” Heather said, but her statement didn’t ease Mac’s confusion. “Do what?” Mac asked, making Heather grow frustrated from her cluelessness. “Try and kiss me when so many people are around! You can’t just do that, we could get in a lot of trouble.” Heather said, but Mac didn’t really get it. She sees some of her classmates kissing in the halls and no one would have a problem with it. Usually they’d be the topic of gossip that day, but Mac didn’t really care about the gossip, so why should they care if her and Heather kissed? “What’s wrong with us kissing? We did it a lot yesterday.” Heather felt her face heat up at the girl’s bluntness, her mind going back to Mac’s room where they spent the rest of the day just kissing. No, focus, this was serious. “Look, Mac, some people don’t like it when two girls kiss and if they ever found out that we, two girls, kiss, we could become like Martha Dumptruck. Destined to be alone with no friends.” Heather said and Mac frowned. “That sounds… Really bad.” Mac said and Heather nodded in agreement. “Can we at least kiss when no one is around?” Once again, the fluttering came back, but this time, Heather didn’t push them down. “Yeah, that’s fine.” Heather said and Mac smiled, walking closer to Heather while fiddling with her hand. “Can I kiss you now?” Heather didn’t even hesitate to pull Mac close and kiss her this time.

So they continued like this. Acting like friends to the outside world and being more than friends when they were away from prying eyes.  
__________

Mac jumped awake when she heard loud knocking at her window, turning her lights on and getting up to see what the cause of the noise was. To her surprise, it was Heather, clad in her usual attire (which Heather didn’t really like) looking slightly irritated at how long it took Mac to get to her. “Heater?” She asked as she opened the window. “Took you long enough, Jesus.” Heather said with a huff, entering Mac’s room and almost falling as she placed her hands on Mac’s desk to steady herself. Heather was wearing a black band t-shirt with a leather jacket, a choker with a skirt, fishnets and combat boots. It was what Heather usually wore now and Mac still doesn’t know why the girl suddenly changed her fashion choices. “Shit.” Heather said, putting the joint that she had in her hands into her mouth as she took off her boots and threw them somewhere in Mac’s room. “Heather, you can’t smoke in here!” Mac said, going over to try and take Heather’s joint, only for the girl to raise it above her head, knowing that Mac couldn’t reach it.

The tiny blonde frowned as she watched Heather take a drag and blow the smoke in her face, grimacing as she blew it away with her hand, not liking the smell and not wanting to get high either. Heather walked past Mac and almost tripped again and the shorter girl quickly reached out to steady her best friend. “Jesus, Heather, you’re drunk and you’re high!” Mac said, worry laced in her tone as Heather got up, hands resting on Mac’s arms for support. Heather has been different lately and Mac doesn’t know why. It started with the clothes, then the partying, then the boys, then the drugs and overall, Mac just doesn’t like who the girl has become. Heather keeps telling her that she’s still her best friend, but it doesn’t feel that way. She won’t even tell her what was wrong and Mac was worried that whatever Heather was dealing with, she was dealing with alone and she knows Heather had a thing for suppressing her emotions.“Shush. Less talking.” Heather said, her words slurred as she leaned down to kiss Heather. “Heather, no. You-” Heather didn’t even get to finish when Chandler put her lips on her.

She became weak from her touch, just like she usually did and melted in the taller girl’s arms, reciprocating the kiss while Heather’s hands started roaming her body. When Heather’s hands started reaching up to cup her breasts, Mac suddenly remembered why it was wrong. “Heather, no.” Mac said, pushing the girl away, but Heather shushed her and started kissing down her jaw to her neck. She knew something was wrong with Heather and Mac wanted to help her so bad. Everyday when she’d see Heather, she could see it in her eyes, looking so tired and done with everything, but everytime she asked, Heather would shut her out. “Heather, what’s wrong?” She asked, cupping the girl’s face and lifting it, seeing the shock in Heather’s eyes from the sudden question, but it was quickly masked off as a smirk appeared on Heather’s face. “What’s wrong is that you have too many clothes on.” Heather reached down to grab the hem of Mac’s pyjama top, but Heather grabbed her hands with one hand while the other tried to make the girl face her. 

“Heather…” Mac said as Heather tried to move her face away from Mac. “No.” She mumbled, already knowing what Mac was trying to get at. “Heather, talk to me.” Mac insisted moving closer to the girl who looked like she was close to tears. “No, stop it.” Heather said, continuing to move away. “Heather, please.” Maybe it was the weed, maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the pent up emotions. Whatever it was, Heather snapped. “If you didn’t want to be with me, you could just kick me out! God, Mac, don’t be such a prude.” Heather said angrily, stepping away from Mac whose eyes widened. “No, no, it’s not like that.” Mac said frantically, stepping towards Heather who took another step back, glaring at the tiny blonde who felt even smaller due to her gaze. “What, not into it anymore? Why? Cause I’m a mess? Perfect little Heather doesn’t want to be with a stoner and a burnout? Just not good enough for you, huh?” Heather shouted and Mac flinched, this being her first time seeing Heather act out like this. “Heather, you’re scaring me.” Mac whimpered, but Chandler was too caught in her own emotions to even notice. 

“I’m sorry if I can’t be perfect, okay! I’m sorry I can’t be the person you want me to be, it’s not my fault I’m the way I am!” It was at that moment did Mac realize Heather wasn’t talking about them anymore. “There’s nothing I can do about it and as much as I want to be the person you want to be, I can’t! Because it’s not possible, I’m just like this!” Heather breathed heavily, her lungs burning as the tears fell from her eyes, hands gripping her hair tightly as she choked on the pain in her chest. “Heather…” Mac said softly, slowly approaching her best friend and reaching out to her. When Heather didn’t move away, Mac pulled the taller girl into a hug, letting her cry into her shoulder. This was a Heather she was familiar with, but Mac desperately wished that that wasn’t the case. She hates seeing Heather like this and ever since she changed, it’s like Heathers more broken than ever and it kills her because she doesn’t know what to do to fix it. “I want to help you, Heather. I hate seeing you in pain, it only hurts me as well. But I can’t help you if you don’t tell me how, so please. Just tell me what’s wrong and how to fix this.”

Mac felt Heather tense up in her arms, lifting her head and staring the smaller girl right in her eyes. For a second, Mac had thought she finally got through her best friend, finally able to convince her to let her in like she used to and let her help. But she knew she failed when the next words left Heather’s mouth. “Just kiss me.” Mac sighed, but obeyed, cupping the side of Heather’s face and wiping the tears away with her thumb before pulling the girl in. Heather didn’t hesitate to walk forward, forcing Mac to step back until the back of her legs hit the edge of her bed. Heather gently laid Mac down before starting to kiss down, preferring to get lost in the girl instead of being lost in her thoughts. “Heather…” Mac moaned and all Heather wanted was to hear it again. “Heather…” And again.

“Heather…”  
__________

“Heather.”

The said girl snapped out of her trance, her eyes meeting her own as she looked at herself in the mirror. Gone were the heavy eyeliner, black-punk clothing, dilated eyes and the beer stained breath, now replaced by her usual makeup, red-prim clothing and her bright green eyes. Heather doesn’t know why she keeps looking back to these moments of her life, the time where she was lower than low, especially when she was on top of the world. There was no point reminiscing about the past when there was so much to do in the present. Heather turned to the door and opened it to see Mac waiting for her, sitting on her bed in her usual yellow Heather attire as well. “Hey. You ready to go?” Mac smiled at Heather and Heather felt the lightest flutter in her heart. It wasn’t as intense as before, but Heather found that she wasn’t really capable of feeling intense emotions anymore. But she knew that no matter what happened to her, she would always have a soft spot for her best friend. “Let’s go.” Heather said and Mac smiled, getting up and walking over to Heather to give her a quick kiss before leaving the room.


	19. Heather Says I Gots To Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW for emotional abuse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't touched this fic until literally right now and I remember jack shit from the previous chapters so if some details don't match up with previous chapters, then I'm sorry

“We need to talk.” Mac jumped in shock when Heather appeared when she closed the door to her locker. The girl in green gave her a serious look which made Mac become anxious, eyes darting around the room to see all the eyes on the two of them. She didn’t really care all that much if people saw them together since she liked Heather, they were friends. But if a certain pair of green eyes saw them.

“I’m not supposed to be talking to you yet.” Mac said as her grip on her bag strap tightened.

“Yeah, well this is important.” From the tone of her voice, Mac could tell that Heather wasn’t lying. She’s been wanting to talk to Heather for awhile now, but the fear of Heather finding out and thinking that Mac betrayed her trust made it hard for Mac to decide.

“I don’t know…” Mac said, shifting on her feet as she kept her eyes glued to the floor.

“Please. I swear Heather won’t find out, it’ll be quick.” Duke pleaded, trying to meet the girl’s eyes. Being persuaded so easily was one of the things that Mac hated about herself, but she couldn’t help it, knowing she’d spent the rest of the day (probably week as well) feeling guilty if she said no to Duke after how desperate she sounded.

“Fine, but we can’t talk here.” Mac said, grabbing Heather’s hand and dragging her off to somewhere more private. The situation went easier than Duke expected, so she made no move to protest in fear of Mac changing her mind as she let the girl drag her along. 

“Janitor’s closet, really? Gross.” Duke said, stepping away from the mop which she felt on her shoulder with a grimace of disgust.

“It’s the first place I thought of, okay? Now, what did you need to talk about? I’m not supposed to talk to you until Monday, it’s only Tuesday.” Mac said with a pout. If Chandler found out about this whole ‘secret meeting’ thing, Mac wouldn't be the only one facing consequences. But not only did she not want to feel bad about rejecting her friend, she was also genuinely interested in what Heather had to say.

“I need to talk to you about what happened between you and Veronica.” Heather said, deciding to get straight into it, knowing that she’d just be wasting time by beating around the bush. It was almost lunch so she had to be quick about this because Heather would be hunting Mac down if she appeared more than ten minutes late to lunch.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Oh come on, Veronica’s been in a rut about it and it’s getting really annoying .”  
__________

“So Ashley keeps fucking with me and trying to get on my nerves by talking about how I’m kicked from the Heathers and reminding me about how much I tormented her when I was still popular. She better watch the fuck out because I will be coming for her ass once Monday comes around.” Duke whined while Veronica nodded in a daze.

“Uh huh.” Duke raised an eyebrow at her before snapping her fingers in front of the taller girl’s face, successfully pulling Veronica down from whatever world her head was in.

“What?” Veronica asked, eyes blinking rapidly for a second as she tried to process the sudden action from Heather.

“Did you hear a word of what I just said?” Heather asked, pushing herself off the bookshelf she was leaning against next to Veronica and moving in front of the girl, arms crossed and staring her down which made Veronica slightly uncomfortable, attempting to back away until she realized her back was already against the bookshelf.

“Um...Yes?” Veronica said in a sheepish tone.

“You don’t seem sure about that.” Duke challenged.

“Yes, I heard everything you said.” Veronica clarified, putting on a more confident tone in her statement to make up for her hesitance in the last one.

“And who was I talking about?” Veronica opened her mouth to give an answer, only to realize she didn’t have one, so she settled with an exasperated sigh.

“That’s not fair, you rant about someone new everyday.”

“No I don’t, I rant about the same two people, Courtney and Ashley. You had a fifty-fifty chance of getting it right and you would know that if your head wasn’t so stuck in the clouds.” Duke said, lightly flicking Veronica’s forehead before going back to her place next to the taller girl.

“Right, I’m sorry for not listening to you.”

“It’s fine, I don’t really care, I just need to vent.” Duke shrugged before raising her eyes to analyze Veronica who seemed to go back to her dazed state. “Are you okay though? You seem pretty out of it lately, like, more than usual.” Heather was already used to Veronica being fidgety and zoned out most of the time they hung out, but this was different, she just couldn’t pinpoint the reason why.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just got a lot on my mind.” Veronica said with a smile in attempts to lessen her friend’s worry.

“Yeah, no shit. Your head looks ready to explode from the amount of stuff going on in there. Are you sure you’re good?” Maybe it was stupid to worry, Heather didn’t need to know the answer to that. Veronica was probably just going through something, it wasn’t any of her business, so she shouldn’t be sticking her nose into it, they weren’t close.

But they were friends though, they established that already. But it still felt weird. Usually Heather would just rant or gossip to Veronica while the latter would simply listen or crack a few jokes here and there. On occasion, Veronica would update her on that stupid book she was still reading, but other than that, Duke did most of the talking. 

So it was weird, asking something like this when they never talked about personal stuff before. This whole ‘friends’ thing was still new to Heather even though she’d like to think she had plenty of friends already. But Veronica was the first real friend she’s had in awhile and she at least wants to be a good one to her.

“It’s not that big of a deal. Besides, you probably have something else on your mind anyway. I heard something happened in your chemistry class earlier.” Heather narrowed her eyes at the girl.

“You’re dodging the question.” Heather said and Veronica deflated a bit at that, struggling to find a way to come back from that as she scratched the back of her neck awkwardly.

“I don’t know what to say to that.” Not wanting to lie, Veronica just decided to say a part of what was on her mind in that moment.

“Look, if you really don’t want to talk about it, then that’s completely okay. But I do tell you this stupid teen drama stuff for a reason. It sucks having no one to talk to about all the little annoying things that happen throughout your day. But, as much as I hate to say it, I have you to talk about all of it now and I talk to you about it cause I know that if I tell you, you wouldn’t judge me. So if you were to tell anyone about what’s going in that weird ass head of yours, it should be me.” 

Heather was afraid to look at Veronica’s reaction to what she just said, but she was pleased to see that the girl looked more relaxed than she was a few seconds ago. Wasn’t the reaction she expected, but she’s more than happy that Veronica’s exceeding her expectations, just like always. 

“Wow… Never pegged you to be such a pillowcase.” Veronica teased, laughing as Heather took a random book and slapped it against her arm.

“Don’t be an ass, that was embarrassing enough to say, I don’t need you making fun of me for it.” Heather said, making a move to hit the girl again, only for Veronica to grab the book from her and raise it away from her reach.

“Aw, come on, that was so sweet. Man, I’m such a good influence, look at you, expressing your feelings and everything.” Veronica continued to tease and Heather slapped Veronica’s arm with her hand this time before leaning back against the bookcase.

“You’re a huge dick.”

“Must be an upgrade from what you’re used to then, huh?” Heather let out a snort at that, her hand shooting up to cover her mouth before glaring at Veronica. “Shut up, I’m supposed to be annoyed at you, you can’t make me laugh, that’s not fair.” 

“But you admit that I’m right.” Heather raised her eyebrows and let out a scoff of amusement at that and Veronica smiled at the girl as she rested her hand on her shoulder.

“Really though, that was nice of you to say. Thank you, you managed to get my mind off things, even if it was just for a minute.” Heather eyed the hand on her shoulder before shrugging it off, hand going up to rub the spot Veronica’s hand was previously on subconsciously.

“If you really want to thank me, you could tell me what’s wrong.” Heather mumbled, crossing her arms while Veronica tensed a little bit at the mention of it since she thought she had finally escaped the situation.

“You’re really not giving up on that, huh?” Veronica asked in slight amusement and Heather simply shook her head. No other words were needed because Veronica knew that there was no way to get out of her current situation, but at the same time, she didn’t need to get out of it. Heather had a point, if she could trust Veronica with her problems, even if they were little, she could trust her.

“I think Heather Chandler told Mac something to make her start avoiding me. I want to clear the air with her and prove to her that whatever Heather said to her is false, but I can’t do that if I don’t know what she said. She’s been avoiding all my attempts to reach out to her and I don’t know what to do.” 

It felt like things were spiralling out of control for Veronica again. She thought everything would be fine now. Heather was alive, Martha wasn’t faced with the worst kind of public humiliation, she had gotten through to Mac and Duke and now she was kind of friends with JD. Everything finally felt right, but fate just had to remind her that things weren’t that easy.

Veronica wondered if it was ever going to be easy.

“Yeah, that sounds like something she would do.” Heather mumbled, not really knowing what she could say to help Veronica out because she was also under the heel of Heather’s heel and there was nothing she could do to get out of it but wait for Heather to raise her foot off her neck and let her breathe again. 

“How do you do it?” 

“Hm?” Heather hummed, lifting her head to see Veronica who was staring down at her with a concerned yet curious gaze.

“You know, handle being around Heather Chandler like that for as long as you have?” Veronica spent a few weeks with the girl and she managed to literally kill her. It baffles her how her and Mac could just be around that type of person twenty-four seven for years on end. She may have accidentally killed her, but her feelings about the girl still remained the same even if it had a little bit of guilt added into it.

“I… I don’t know. Maybe it’s because Heather doesn’t really give you an option to get used to her shit. At one point you think you’ve finally figured her out and then suddenly she comes out of nowhere with something new to make you wish you’ve never gotten close to her in the first place and then you’re back where you first began.”

“Then why stay? Why continue to put up with all of it?” That question made Heather think. Like really think about it for the first time in a very long time. Just like Veronica whenever it came to Heather Chandler, she didn’t have an answer.

“Aren’t I supposed to be the one questioning you?” Heather said, dodging the question and Veronica paused for a second, deciding if she should just let it go or keep pushing on the topic, but there was too much going on to add to her long list of problems.

“Alright, ask away.”  
__________

“When did you two start hanging out anyway?” Veronica told her that they talked sometimes, but now that Heather was going out of her way to talk to her for Veronica, then it was obvious that the girl lied. 

Heather was right.

Duke opened her mouth, ready to come out with a lie, but she could see it in Mac’s eyes that the blonde didn’t even seem to trust her now. Damn Heather for feeding her whatever stupid lies she did. Heather knew that if she was going to get through to Mac and make her realize what was really going on, she would have to tell the truth.

“A little over a week after school started.” She answered truthfully.

“That long ago?” Mac asked in shock.

“Yes. I was throwing up in the bathroom and then somebody slipped a permission slip into my stall. I found out it was Veronica who gave me that permission slip and that she does really good forgeries. So, I made a deal with her. She provides me forgeries whenever I need them while I provide her protection from the monsters of this school.” Heather explained as simply as she could, gazing at Heather to try and see what reaction she formed after hearing all of this.

“Why didn’t you tell us about this?” If Veronica really could do forgeries, then Heather should’ve told them about it because that would be useful for all of them. It’d make skipping classes a lot easier for them and who knows what else they could do if they had someone who could forge anything they wanted on their side.

“And let Heather use Veronica like a toy? If I had Veronica to myself, I could have the benefits of her forgeries without anyone knowing and make myself a step above everyone else. It was an opportunity I wasn’t going to pass up and don’t tell me that if Heather had her hands on someone like Veronica, she wouldn’t ruin her the first chance she got.”

Mac made a move to protest, tell Heather that she was wrong and that Heather wouldn’t ever do something like that. But there was no denying that she was right. Every student at Westerberg was like a bomb that could go off with one click of a button and the remote was right in Heather Chandler’s hands. She manages to find dirt on everyone whether it be through Duke or someone else and there was no doubt that if Heather got a hold of Veronica and found her useless, she’d blow up into pieces in a flash.

But not her. Heather had a point in keeping Veronica as a little helper a secret from Heather because not only would it put Veronica in danger, it would also set Heather back. But despite all of this, Heather knew that Heather Chandler would never press her button.

“Look, it doesn’t matter why.”

“Then why did you ask?”

“Because!” Was all the blonde could reply, getting too frustrated and confused to be able to form any coherent thoughts.

“Heather, what did Heather tell you?” Duke asked in a calmer tone, knowing that Mac responded better when voices weren’t being raised.

“It doesn’t matter.” 

“Heather, I just need to know what she said. That’s all I’m asking for you and then I’ll leave you alone until Monday.” Heather said, but the girl in front of her wasn’t convinced.

“You know she’s probably using you too!” Heather exclaimed and Duke stepped back a bit in shock, trying to see if she heard what Mac said was correct.

“What?”

“Why would she take your deal? You said it yourself, all she wants is protection. She wanted my popularity and she wants your protection, can’t you see it?” Heather let out an exasperated scoff at this.

“I don’t know, have we been looking at the same girl? Is that what Heather told you? That Veronica’s using you for your popularity? Come on, Heather.” 

“Don’t talk to me like that.” Heather said, her words slightly cracking from the stress that was building up inside her. “I’m not stupid, okay. Heather told me-”

“Just because Heather told you something doesn’t mean it’s the truth. We’ve seen it happen right in front of our faces, Heather lies all the goddamn time.” 

“She wouldn’t lie to me.” Mac said, lip quivering as tears started to sting her eyes. She was so confused. Heather was saying all these words to her and she could barely hear them because the words Heather would tell her were playing on repeat in her mind. She’s heard it so many times, how could it be wrong? It couldn’t be lies. Heather Duke was wrong, she had to be.

Right?

“Mac, think about it. It doesn’t take much to see the type of person Veronica is. Do you really, genuinely, believe that Veronica is the type of person that would manipulate you in order to gain something like popularity?” Duke asked and Mac desperately didn’t want to think about it, she wanted to believe in Heather, but the thoughts were creeping in.

What would Veronica gain from tutoring her? Popularity? Veronica always respected her choice of wanting to meet in public and the girl almost never interacted with her whenever other people were around unless she approached her first. So the want for popularity didn’t make sense, because in order to gain popularity, she’d have to be seen around someone who was popular. Even if Veronica did want popularity, what would she gain from that?

In the little conversations she shared with Veronica, she would share her distaste for most of the popular kids at their school. So what did she want? Why was Heather’s words not making sense to her anymore? She believed that Veronica was a good person, she even defended her because she thought of Veronica as her friend. What if Heather did lie to her about Veronica’s intentions?

Oh god. The amount of times Veronica tried to talk to her and apologize to her. She’s been avoiding her like the plague for the past few days now, sometimes even throwing glares at her. There was so much malice for the girl inside of her, so if Heather really was lying and she’s been holding all that hate for Veronica for nothing, then…

“Look, I’m not gonna keep you here any longer. I just want to say this: When I lost my position as a Heather, Veronica could’ve left me to fend for myself because I was no longer of any use to her cause I wouldn’t be able to provide her any protection. But she stayed. Not only to keep giving me those stupid forgeries, but she stayed to be my friend. I don’t want to sway your thoughts, but compare that to what Heather told you and decide for yourself who you want to trust.”  
__________

“Heather?” Mac mumbled as the blonde hummed in reply, continuing to stroke the girl’s hair as she stared up at the ceiling with half lidded eyes. 

“About Veronica-” Heather groaned at that, sitting up and reaching over to her night stand while Mac slowly sat up as well, grabbing the edge of Heather’s duvet and holding it up close to her.

“I thought we already went through this,” She said as she took out a cigarette and lighter, putting it in her mouth and holding it there as she started to light it. “Veronica Sawyer is a bitch and you shouldn’t hang around someone like her.” Heather said before taking a drag and offering a hit to Mac who raised her hand and shook her head.

“Yeah, but…”

“I don’t like the ‘but’ at the end of that sentence, it should’ve ended at yeah.” Heather said as she slouched back against her headboard. 

“What if you were wrong about Veronica? Maybe you misinterpreted her words or-”

“Okay, what is this about?” Heather cut in, sitting up and putting her cigarette out on her ashtray. “There’s a lot of Veronica talk going on when you were just moaning my name out a few minutes ago, so why don’t we go back to that?” Heather leaned forward, hands going out to reach out for Mac’s waist, but she gently placed her hand on Heather’s chest and pushed her away.

“I want to talk right now.” Mac said in a determined voice making Heather sigh, leaning back once more and rubbing her eyes. “Alright, let’s talk.” Not in the mood to pick a fight at the moment, Heather relented and decided to humor Mac for a bit.

“I want to know if you lied to me about Veronica using me for my popularity.” Heather said after a second of trying to find the courage to just come out with what’s been on her mind. 

“Baby,” Heather said in a soft tone, reaching over and cupping Mac’s face, making the girl instantly melt from her touch, sighing as her eyes fluttered shut. “Would I ever lie to you?” Those words caused Mac to break from the quick trance she was under as she pulled herself away from Heather.

“I want a yes or a no, that’s it. Did you lie to me about Veronica using me for my popularity?” Heather slumped back from where she sat, already tired with the conversation as she buried her head in her hand, rubbing at her eyes while Mac stood there, waiting for Heather to give her an answer.

“So I took some liberties when telling you about Veronica, what about it?” Mac froze for a second as she watched Heather take another cigarette and light it as if she didn’t just admit to lying to her. She let out a scoff of disbelief, light laughter leaving her mouth as she shook her head.

“You’re serious?” Now that she heard it for herself, it made it hard for her to believe anything. “Yo-You’re not joking? You’re just gonna say it outright?” What was anyone supposed to do in this situation? 

“I mean, I’m not exactly laughing here.” 

“Heather, be serious!”

“Well what do you want me to say?” Heather asked, standing up and raising her voice a bit which made Mac take a step back. This action caused Heather to sigh before slowly approaching Mac and gently placing her hands on her shoulders, rubbing them soothingly up and down.

“Look, I may have shifted the story a bit, but I needed you to believe me. I meant what I said about wanting to protect you and I simply don’t trust that Veronica Sawyer has any good intentions. I don’t want her tainting you when you’re already so perfect to me.” Her voice was soft as she ran her hand through Mac’s hair before lightly brushing it against her cheek.

“I already believe you more than anyone in this world, why did you have to lie?” Despite the many questions flurrying through her head, Mac didn’t pull away, simply looking up and letting Heather hold her in the way she loved.

“Like I said, to protect you.” Heather said, slowly pulling Mac into her. 

Mac was just about ready to fall back into her best friend when the words of Heather Duke rang in her head. This was Veronica they were talking about.

“Protect me from what?” Mac asked, soft enough so that the bubble they were in wouldn’t break, but she felt it teetering on the edge when she pushed Heather away again, frustrating the girl as her patience started being tested.

“How many times do I have to repeat this, Mac? Veronica, I am protecting you from Veronica Sawyer because she’s a bad person. See, I’m already having a headache from saying her name over and over again, so why don’t we just go to bed and-”

“No.” Mac said, stepping back fully this time and trying to search for something in Heather’s eyes. Maybe an answer or a reason as to why she lied, a clue as to what made her think Veronica was dangerous, anything, simply anything because none of this was making sense to her. 

Heather had to force herself to not let her frustrations out as she took a deep breath, running her fingers through her head. “Baby, I don’t understand why you’re not getting any of this, it’s right in front of you, just open your eyes and you’ll see the truth.” Heather said, moving forward and going over to reach for Heather’s hand.

“Veronica is not good for you.” At the mention of the girl, Mac quickly moved her hand out of Heather’s reach and she could tell by the look in her eyes that Heather had lost her patience. “You’re wrong. Veronica isn’t a bad person, she hasn’t done anything to say otherwise. I don’t believe…” 

Even as she started saying those words, she didn’t know if she could finish them. This was the girl that’s been by her side for so long now, so to say that she didn’t believe her would be like having her whole world shatter right before her and Heather didn’t know if she wanted that. Who would? It wasn’t that she didn’t believe Heather completely, just with this situation, but what would that say about her?

Heather trusts her with everything, so Mac should trust her too. But it all just didn’t make any sense and she didn’t know what to think. Saying she didn’t believe her would be like saying that all the years they spent together meant nothing and of course it didn’t mean nothing to Mac, it meant everything to her. The challenging look Heather gave her made her hesitate, what was she supposed to say?

“I believe in Veronica.” Mac felt a chill run down her spine from the expression on Heather’s face. The fact that there wasn’t any expression at all scared her more, so she quickly moved away and went to find her clothes.

“Mac.” She stopped, standing straight, frozen from where she was as she felt Heather approach her from behind. It was like the room grew colder the closer she got, but the moment she felt Heather come up behind her, everything turned warm. 

“I’m sorry, but you realize that I’m doing this for your sake, right? Look, just because I say Veronica is a bad person doesn’t mean she is, I don’t know these things so it’s up to you to believe what you want.” Heather carefully turned Mac around so they stood face to face.

“But if I end up being correct and Veronica plays you, then it’s not my fault. You can believe whatever you want, but what happens past that is all on you, just don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Mac swallowed at that, her breathing became shaky which Heather noticed, making her hold on her loosen as she wrapped her arms around her waist.

“But no matter what, I will be here for you because you’re my best friend. I’d never leave you hanging like that. So come back to bed.” Those words caused goosebumps to rise on Mac’s skin and she couldn’t pinpoint an exact reason as to why. It didn’t matter why because all she could focus on in that moment was Heather as she fell into her arms, letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

It wasn’t how she was expecting the night to end, but for now, she could stop thinking about everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to clarify even though I'm sure you guys already know this, but it is not in my intention to romanticize the behavior Heather Chandler is showing, and has been showing, in this story. I want to show that anyone is capable of doing these sort of things and show that no matter how much you adore or trust a person, their shitty actions should not be excused. If you know someone personally who acts like this towards you or anyone you care about, then do not stand back, call out their shit and make sure they know it's wrong. I do believe in second chances and I will not say much more so I won't expose my plans for the story, but Heather's behavior is in no way accepted, but there is always space for someone to realize their mistakes and right what they did wrong.
> 
> That is all.


	20. Now We Recognize The Way Things Are

Mac spent most of her free period walking around the school to try and figure out where Veronica could be. This was usually the same time her and Veronica would spend time together with Veronica tutoring her, so she didn’t have to worry about catching her at a wrong time.

But still, it seemed like Veronica popped up when it was needed because she was nowhere to be found. Unfortunate how when she needed to talk to her she couldn’t pop up this time. 

After multiple laps around the school, Heather found herself in a place she hasn’t been in since maybe the fourth grade. The library was mostly empty with some other students studying and reading. As she looked at the tables, the only occupied ones were occupied by random kids she knew the faces of but didn’t actually know.

Continuing to look around, Mac searched every aisle she could, going to sections filled with books she thinks Veronica would like, yet no sign of her. Until she reached the back of the library.

“See, this is why you should never marry an artist. Date one all you want, but marrying one is dangerous.” Heather said while Veronica shook her head in amusement at the girl.

“Come on, it’s romantic.”

“Yeah, and Eurydice’s gone. Any sane person wouldn’t look back, but of course the poet and the songwriter would look back.” Heather said while Veronica shrugged.

“At least it made a good story.”

Mac grabbed the courage to step out from where she was, clearing her throat to grab the attention of the two girls. Veronica and Heather were sitting on the ground, a book in Veronica’s lap about stories from Greek Mythology.   
“Heather.” Duke said as her and Veronica slowly got up from where they were. 

“Hi…” Mac started, not really knowing where to start as she looked up at the two, fiddling her fingers as she tried to find the words she needed to say. She’s been so focused on finding Veronica that she didn’t even think about what she was going to say when she found her.

“You know, I think I have some homework I need to finish.” Veronica raised her eyes at Heather who rolled her eyes in return. “I’ll be heading out then.” Heather squeezed Veronica’s arm in support before leaving the two girls alone.

“Did you need something?” Though the words could be taken a different way, Heather felt relief when Veronica’s tone was nothing but patient and gentle.

“Yeah, I… I just needed to talk to you.” Veronica nodded and sat back down on the ground, patting the space next to her. Heather hesitated for a moment, but the kind and welcoming look Veronica gave her made her push that hesitance away as she sat next to her.

“I should probably start off by apologizing.” Heather said with a sad laugh. “Ignoring you like that with no explanation was really shitty of me to do.” 

“It’s okay. I figured something was wrong. I just couldn’t figure out what exactly.” With each word Veronica spoke, more and more guilt creeped into Heather.

There was no difference in Veronica’s tone, for she had always spoken to her like this. It was like nothing had changed and it made Heather feel like a fool for believing Heather when she had always known inside her that Veronica was a kind person, a person who wasn’t capable of using other people for her own gain.

“Keeping you in the dark like that was wrong. I'm not even sure if you did something wrong, I just acted on impulse, I didn’t think.” Heather lifted her legs and wrapped her arms around them, pulling them against herself to bring herself some sort of comfort.

“You’ve only ever been nice to me. I had no reason to think otherwise, yet I still did.” Veronica frowned at this, frowning from the distress on Heather’s face and frowning due to the words she spoke.

“Well, don’t write me off that easily.” Veronica said, her tone half joking which made Heather turn to her with a confused expression on her face.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“You feel bad about acting on impulse about me?” Veronica asked and Heather slowly nodded at the words.

“How is this any different?” No judgement was found in Veronica’s tone, but rather a genuine curiosity on what Heather’s thoughts were. Though it only caused further confusion in the girl.

“I… Don’t understand.” 

“Heather, why did you start ignoring me?” Veronica asked and Heather was caught off guard by the sudden topic change as shame filled her when she remembered why she was there in the first place.

“Um… Heather- Chandler, I mean. Not Heather Duke.” She stammered, trying to find how to explain herself without feeling too bad.

“Heather told me that… She basically told me that you were bad. That you were using me for my popularity, that you only hung out with me for your own personal gain. I believed her, cause why wouldn’t I?”

Heather looked down, fiddling with her fingers as she continued to think about the choice she made, the same way she’s been thinking about them for the past few days. 

“But I know I was wrong now. Heather was lying, you would never do that!” Heather said.

“And how do you know that?” Another question catching Heather off guard. Of all the reactions she expected Veronica to have, this was one she didn’t consider.

If anything, she expected Heather to ask her this question.

“I mean, you’re you! You’re Veronica, you’re kind and patient.” Heather answered truthfully while Veronica smiled in return.

“How are you sure?” Veronica pressed on, making Heather stammer as she tried to figure out what these questions were for.

“You’re starting to confuse me more than Heather.” Heather said as her hands went to her head, feeling herself grow dizzy, feeling as if she was being tossed back and forth with all her doubts and questions.

“Heather told you I was untrustworthy and you believed her. What made you believe that she was wrong and that I’m not as bad as she says she is?” Veronica asked. 

“Well, Heather came up to me the other day and told me that you weren’t that type of person. Now I’m talking to you and it’s only making me believe that Heather was wrong even more.” She felt herself starting to ramble, trying to make sense of all the jumbled up information that she’s gathered in her head.

“Heather, a few nice smiles and persuasive words shouldn’t be enough to make yourself form a final decision on something.” Veronica said making Heather turn to her, eyes furrowed as the gears turned in her head.

“I don’t…” She was tired of saying it over and over again.

“You believed Heather Chandler after she told you a few things. Then you believed me because of a few things Heather Duke said. You’re relying on their words to make your decisions, but you never even asked me for my side of the story.”

Mac struggled to find any sort of words to say in return to what Veronica told her. It made sense, but at the same time, it made her even more disoriented. 

“Here’s my side of the story. I saw you were struggling in class, so I gave you some help. But I didn’t want you to rely on me to provide you the answers to everything, so I opted for something more productive by offering to tutor you because I wanted you to learn. Then suddenly you started ignoring me and I assumed that I either did something, or something else happened”

“But… I don’t get it.” Where were the words of persuasion? Where was the explanation about her intentions? Where were the words that’s sole purpose was to convince Heather into going on one side and going against the other?

“Are you not gonna try and convince me why I shouldn’t believe Heather? Or why I should believe you?” Veronica simply shrugged at this.

“That was really everything that happened. If I tell you more, I’ll just be swaying your choice to believe me, but I want you to choose for yourself with what you already have. You seem like you already have a lot on your mind, I don’t want to add more to it by confusing you even more.” 

Heather opened her mouth to ask Veronica another question, but the sound of the bell ringing cut her off. With a smile, Veronica got up and extended her hand to Heather before helping her up.

“Think about it on your own for awhile, Heather. Like, really think about it instead of deciding on the spot. You’ll be able to make a choice without being unsure about the choice you made that way.” Patting Heather’s shoulder, Veronica left the library, leaving Heather to do as she said and just think.

Veronica then found herself by her locker, putting the books in her bag that she didn’t need inside her locker and taking the ones she needed out of it.

Thinking back to her interaction with Mac, Veronica found her head clearer which was unusual, but refreshing. Unlike Heather, Veronica spent all of her time thinking about how she was going to handle her situation with the girl and thinking of ways on how she’ll get Mac to believe her.

But after Heather told her about how she talked to Mac for her, she realized that Mac might be as confused as she was, probably even more. She knew Heather Chandler had a hold on everyone, but she never really thought about how strong her hold on certain people was.

Instead of thinking about how to make herself the better person to Mac, Veronica decided to lighten the girl’s load by helping her make a choice instead of forcing her to choose her. It wasn’t even a choice between Heather or Veronica, it was more of Mac making a choice on who to believe, the words of someone else or her own thoughts. 

Though they weren’t talking, Heather Duke made sure to keep a close eye on Mac and from what she told her, Mac seemed to be taking all of it the hardest. She didn’t know how deep her relationship with Heather Chandler was, but according to Heather Duke, they were the only ones who continued being friends after everyone separated by first grade.

“Veronica!” The girl turned her head to the sound of her name to see her best friend running to her. “Hey, Martha.” Veronica said, shutting her locker before leaning against it as Martha approached, a big smile on her face as she held her unicorn journal close to her chest.

“Hi, Veronica! I was just wondering if we could walk to lunch together.” Veronica smiled and pushed herself off of her locker.

“Sure, let’s go.” The two started walking to the cafeteria, Martha telling Veronica about how her mom is gonna get her a pet chinchilla since her dad was afraid of cats. As they were walking though, Martha’s journal was taken out of her hands and thrown to the ground before dirty sneakers stomped on it.

“Clumsy me!” Ram said, raising his hands before bursting into laughter from his own joke. 

Martha frowned, leaning down to grab her notebook, only for it to be kicked out of her reach, people splitting down the middle of the hall and watching with laughter as Martha continued to follow the journal that was continuously kicked further and further.

“Cut it out, jackass!” Veronica said, pushing Ram as she bent down and quickly grabbed the journal, handing it to Martha and standing in front of her when Ram approached.

“Did you just put your hands on me, Virgin?” Ram spat out and Veronica rolled her eyes.

“Could you at least come up with something original?” Ram grabbed Veronica’s collar, reeling his fist back and getting right into Veronica’s face.

“I’m not against hitting a girl, lard-ass.” 

Seeing his face so up close reminded Veronica that this wasn’t her life, because if it was, Ram’s face should be pale and lifeless. Just the image of his dead eyes in her head caused her to freeze up, all of her previous confidence draining as she felt herself slipping back into a bad place.

Things were okay, he wasn’t dead, but there was no erasing those horrible events in Veronica’s mind. She would always see Ram and Kurt as one of her worst mistakes, reminding her of how lucky she was to have a second chance. What was she doing? Insulting the boy who she wronged in the worst way. Being a bully was one thing, but murdering someone was another.

“Nothing to say? Well, I’ll give you something to say when my fist meets your face!” Ram spat in Veronica’s face and Veronica squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for an impact that never came.

Ram jumped at a soft hand trailing it’s way up his arm up to his shoulder, shoving Veronica away and turning around, ready to sock the person who dared touch him. But as his eyes met the hands on his skin, he felt himself melt as those hands went up his chest and to his neck.

“You know, Ram,” Veronica and the rest of the students in the hallway watched with wide eyes as Heather Duke ran her hands up and down Ram’s body, making the boy melt in her hold.

“Yeah?” Ram asked in a dazed tone, eyes clouding with lust as he smiled dumbly at Heather who smirked. Just because she wasn’t an official Heather didn’t mean she wasn’t hot anymore.

“You’re really hot when you get all angry like that.” Veronica, finally realizing what was happening, held back a laugh and let out a scoff of disbelief instead, catching Heather’s eyes which glinted with mischief and amusement over Ram’s shoulder.

“Maybe we should,” Heather leaned up to Ram’s ear as she squeezed his arm, practically making the boy purr like a lion tamed to the point where it was nothing more than a harmless kitten. “Get out of here?’

Ram didn’t hesitate to take Heather’s hand and drag her down the hallway. Heather turned her head, catching Veronica’s eyes and winking at the girl before following Ram. Veronica couldn’t help the laugh that left her mouth, hand shooting up to cover it up with a cough.

The rest of the students took a second to process what just happened before returning to what they were doing, whispering eagerly to each other about what just happened before them. That should give them something to talk about for a few days.

“Are you okay?” Veronica asked, remembering her friend and turning to Martha who had a faraway look in her eyes.

“Martha?” She asked in concern.

“Did Heather just… Wink at you?” She asked in confusion and Veronica was quick to shake her head at the question. “What? No way, you probably just saw wrong.” 

“But…” Martha thought to herself for a second, looking up to Veronica and staring into her eyes as if searching for something, but after a second, the brightness in Martha’s eyes returned. “Okay. Come on, I’m hungry.” Veronica laughed and wrapped her arm around Martha and walked with her to the cafeteria. 

They continued talking, grabbing their trays and heading to the line when Veronica bumped into someone.

“Oh! Sorry, Veronica.” Mac said, as she stumbled, trying to balance all the food on her tray and Veronica quickly reached out, steadying Mac who let out a huff, sending a grateful look to Veronica along with a small smile that could barely be seen, but Veronica was close enough to see it.

“It’s okay. I’ll see you around?” Veronica asked and Heather hesitated, looking around the cafeteria before looking down. “I guess we’ll have to see.” Though it wasn’t the answer Veronica was hoping for, she still gave Heather a friendly nod, still happy with what she said. Sending Veronica a quick wave, Heather left before anyone could question why she was even standing with two nerds. 

“I always forget that you’re tutoring a Heather.” Martha said as they continued on with the line.

“Ah, well that’s on hold for now, but hopefully we can pick it up again.”

The two got their food and walked over to their usual table, continuing their conversation when a group of preps walked by, their not so private conversation falling upon Veronica and Martha’s ears.

“Yeah, then Veronica Sawyer was about to get her ass handed to her when Heather stepped in and basically asked him for a booty call in the middle of the hall.”

“God, what a slut.”

Martha frowned at the words used to describe Heather. Though the Heathers were particularly cruel to her due to her looks, she still believed that no one should be subjected to that type of language.

“People will talk about anything here.” Veronica said as she ate her food, mostly ignoring what the preps said about her new friend. There was no use in being mad for Heather when the girl wasn’t even that affected by the words of those “nobodies”, as she liked to call them. 

“Are you okay, by the way? You completely froze up earlier, it must have been scary.” 

“Yeah… I may have a sharp tongue, but there was no way I could fight back against Ram like that. He’s this huge chunk of meat and I’m basically a stick. Besides, I couldn’t do that to him.” With a shrug, Veronica continued eating her food, leaving Martha to stare at her in shock.

“Really?” Martha asked in disbelief, causing Veronica to raise her head, furrowing her eyebrows at her best friend.

“What?” She asked. 

“Well, you always talk about wanting to give Kurt and Ram a taste of their own medicine, so hearing you say that is kinda odd.” Though Martha meant her words in a joking way, Veronica couldn’t help but suppress a wince that threatened to break through her.

“Yeah, uh, sorry about that. I know I should’ve been more supportive about your feelings towards Ram, even though I don’t see him as a good fit for you.” Martha’s face slowly fell as she looked town, hand reaching up as she played with her ponytail.

“Uh, actually, I don’t really… Love Ram anymore.” Veronica’s eyes widened and she was sure that if she was drinking water at that moment, she would spit it out from the sheer shock at what Martha just told her.

“No shit.” She asked more than stated.

“Yeah…” 

“When did this happen?” Veronica asked and Martha shrugged.

“I don’t know, it just did. I realized that Ram may not be the same boy I fell in love with in Kindergarten. Besides, he was about to hurt you earlier. I don’t think I could be with someone who would try to hurt the people I love.” Veronica reached over and held Martha’s hand, knowing that it must’ve been hard for Martha to come to this conclusion.

Years of defending Ram’s horrible actions to come to Martha’s realization would be worth all the pain Martha might be feeling. But both girls knew that it would be better that way. Martha could finally move on.

“Veronica, I have something important to ask you.” Veronica opened her mouth to reply when a slushy was placed in front of her.

“JD.” Veronica said as the boy smiled at Veronica. “Hey, Stranger.” He said before turning to Martha who gave him an unsure look. “Stranger’s friend.” 

“Did you need something?” Veronica asked, taking the slushy and drinking it as the boy smiled at her. 

“Actually, I do. I need your company. The diner’s gonna close for a week because Dawn’s due date is at that point and Jenna, Becky and Cal want to be there for her when it happens.” JD said and Veronica’s eyes lit up at that.

“Aw, good for Dawn. She always made sure to convince Cal to give me an extra pancake. I hope all goes well for her.” Veronica said and JD smiled at the words.

“Which is why we have to go now. They’re closing early today and they’ll be closed starting tomorrow.” JD extended his arm to Veronica who was about to reach and grab it when her sight caught Martha.

“Oh, Martha, is it alright if we continue this later? I’ll even bring you back a pie, they’re the best, I promise.” Martha opened her mouth to protest, but his eyes shot to JD, searching something inside his eyes in the same way she did earlier with Veronica. 

“...Okay. It sounds important, I wouldn't want to miss that if I were you.” Veronica smiled at Martha before grabbing JD’s arm, getting up as the two left the cafeteria and the school.

Martha sat by herself thinking of everything that’s been laid out in front of her.


	21. You Understood Everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to use quotes from the movie as well for chapter titles cause I am tired of looking through the musical script over and over again just to find a chapter title.

Saturday came and Veronica was planning on just spending the day in, maybe going over to Martha’s to have a second movie night when her phone rang. It was odd, seeing as phone calls wasn’t something she usually got and it was noon, so it couldn’t be from Martha since she would always be out with her parents at this time.

“Hello?” She asked after picking the phone up.

“Why do you take so long to answer?” The voice of Heather Duke said through the other line.

“I was across the room when you called. Anyway was there anything you needed?” Veronica asked,taking the phone and bringing it over to her bed so she could get more comfortable.

“Can’t a friend just call you because I want to?” 

“Sure, but I gave you my number a long time ago and this is the first time you called me.” Heather let out a huff at that.

“Well, I’m calling now, so shut up.” Veronica let out a snort at that which made Heather smile. Most of her jokes were unappreciated, so it was nice to see someone actually finding them funny. Her time with Veronica was an incredible ego boost since Veronica seemed to be the only one who liked her without any fear.

“But really, why’d you call?” Veronica asked and even though she was talking to Heather through the phone, she could feel the shift in the girl’s mood as it took her a second to reply.

“I’ll be back in the Heathers in two days.” She mumbled.

“How do you feel?” Veronica asked as Heather let out a sigh.

“I don’t know. I’ve been waiting for this day since Heather kicked me out, but now that it’s so close, I’m not sure if I want that day to come anymore.” Heather answered honestly and Veronica felt a sense of pride flow through her. Happy to see that Heather trusted her enough to bare at least a part of her soul to her.

“Why’s that?” She asked. It was obvious that Heather had a lot on her mind, so she wanted to give the girl the opportunity to let it all out.

“It’s just that… Things were bad when I was kicked out of the Heathers. Even though people still had some semblance of fear of me, it was so lonely and I didn’t know what to do. I just felt so alone throughout all of it. But when I think about it… Is being in the Heathers really any different? Because even when I was part of the Heathers, when I was one of the most feared people in the school, I still felt lonely. I can barely call Heather my friend and Mac’s great and all, but she’s always been closer to Heather. So will I really gain anything by going back?”

It was refreshing, being able to let the thoughts Heather kept to herself be out there for the world, even if ‘the world’ was really just Veronica. She didn’t need advice, she didn’t need words of comfort, she just needed to vent. Heather was grateful that Veronica knew this without telling her so.

“I love being popular. I mean, who wouldn’t? Being popular is great. Everyone likes you, at least to your face, and nobody bothers you cause you’re always gonna be untouchable. But it’s not like any of that is gonna matter once we graduate. I’m a senior, for fuck’s sake, I should be over all this crap.” Heather sighed as she rubbed at her eyes in frustration.

“I don’t know, it’s just confusing.” Veronica let out a hum in thought for a second, trying to figure out what she could do in order to help her friend as her eyes landed on her backyard from her window.

“You want to take your mind off it?” Veronica asked.

“How?”

“I have a croquet set in my backyard. We can hang out, play a game or two. It’ll be fun.” Heather thought about it for a second before letting out a tired sigh.

“You know what? Sure, why not. I’ll be there in a bit.” When the girl hung up, Veronica got up off her bed and decided to put something on that wasn’t baggy pajama pants and a worn out t-shirt.

She then went downstairs to find her mother and father who looked like they were getting ready to leave somewhere.

“Where are you guys going?” Veronica asked and her parents looked up from what they were doing to smile at her. 

“Your father has a business dinner. It’s a two hour drive to the venue, so we’re going early to beat the traffic.” Veronica’s father said as he fixed his tie before adjusting his watch.

“Oh crap, did I forget or something? Let me get ready real quick.” Veronica said, making a move to go back upstairs to quickly get ready and to call Heather, saying she had to cancel when her mother quickly stopped her.

“Oh, no need, Veronica. We’ve noticed you’ve been busy, so we didn’t want to add to your stress by bringing you along.” Her mother said as she took her father’s coat from the rack and helped put it on him. Veronica felt her heart warm at the words. It was nice to be reminded that even though she was trapped in her own world, her parents would always be her parents.

“We left money over there on the counter, buy whatever you want for dinner, but leave some for us. Knowing the company, it’s gonna be filled with lousy finger food and I don’t want to go to sleep with an empty stomach tonight.” Her dad said as he put on his watch.

“I’ll be sure to order another box of pizza just for you, dad.” Veronica said with a laugh. Her mother went up to her and gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek before placing her hands on her daughter’s cheeks.

“Be good, Veronica. Don’t stay up too late.” She patted her cheeks before going over to get the keys to the car.

“Oh, I forgot, I’m having a friend stay over. And before you ask, no, it’s not Martha.” Veronica mentioned before they left.

“Have I met them?” Veronica’s mom asked.

“Uh, not officially, no.” 

“As long as it’s not a boy, feel free to invite a maximum of four people over.” Her dad said, going over to his daughter and pulling her into a hug while Veronica rolled her eyes at the comment.

“I can assure you that my friend is a girl. I’ll see you guys, be safe.” Veronica’s parents thanked her and told her that they loved her before leaving their home. 

Veronica passed the time by watching tv when she heard the sound of Heather’s jeep pull up, she got up and went to her door, opening it and greeting Heather who was making her way up their porch.

“Hey.” Veronica said, opening the door wider so Heather could come in. When she got inside, Heather took the time to look around the small home.  
“Your house is nice.” Heather complimented awkwardly, not knowing what to say which made Veronica let out a chuckle.

“Come on. You know how to play?” Veronica asked as she led Heather to her backyard and over to the shed where the croquet mallets were.

“Oh please. If I didn’t stop going to the country club with the preps, this stupid game would drive me mad.” Heather said as she watched Veronica take out two mallets. Taking the blue one for herself and handing her the red one which made her raise an eyebrow in confusion, eyes landing on the green one in the shed.

“Why’d you give me this one and not the green one? Red isn’t really my color, you know?” Heather said and Veronica turned back to the shed and over to Heather.

“Well, I just thought you’d like to have red. But if you want to have green, we can just switch it out.” 

Heather eyed the mallet in Veronica’s hand with the vibrant red stripe lining it’s head. Though it looked appealing, red wasn’t her color. Heather Chandler practically owned the rights to red. She was green. If Heather ever found out she even went near the color red without the intention of giving it to her, then…

“Hey. She’s not here right now.” Words Veronica wished someone would say to her when she was in her darkest moment, but it looked like Heather could use those words more than her in that moment.

She didn’t know why, but the reassurance that she wasn’t there made Heather feel more confident. Though hesitant, she took the red mallet into her hands, feeling like she could get used to harboring this color even if it was only temporary.

“Get ready to lose, Veronica.” Heather said in a smug tone as she got the matching ball and went over to the lawn. Veronica smiled from seeing the girl’s doubts leave her mind, even if it was for a moment, before taking her own ball and following the girl.

They played for a bit, exchanging trash talk as they accused each other of cheating whenever they made good plays and simply having fun with each other’s company. It was a refreshing change to the usual heavy air between them when they were at school.

Though they were friends, Veronica and Heather still found themselves not knowing how to approach each other properly. The only time they could get comfortable with each other was when they got really into conversation that they forgot about the previous awkwardness, but it was all still so new to them.

For the longest time, both girls hung out with the same people/person for years on end. Both of them lived on two different sides of the world, yet they seemed to mesh greatly together.

“Boom! I knew you were gonna lose.” Veronica let out a huff as she stared at her ball with a grimace. They played for so long that the sun was already setting. “That’s not fair, you have more experience than me. You literally play at country clubs.” 

“Say whatever excuse you want, I’m still better at croquet than you.” Heather cheered, making Veronica roll her eyes playfully as she picked her ball up and approached Heather. 

“I invite you to my home and you disrespect me by kicking my ass? For shame, Heather. For shame.” Heather laughed as she pointed her mallet at Veronica. “That is your own fault, Veronica Sawyer.I just can’t help but be amazing, I guess.” Heather said with a sigh and Veornica laughed lightly.

“Thanks.” Heather said in a softer tone than earlier which made Veronica hum in question.

“For what?”

“For distracting me. Even for just a little bit. I swear, if I was left alone with my thoughts, I would’ve gone crazy.” Heather let out a sad laugh.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Yes, but at the same time, not really?” Heather asked and Veronica sat down on the gross while Heather followed, sitting across from the other girl, laying her croquet mallet next to her.

“How come?” Veronica asked, leaning against her own croquet mallet while Heather let out a frustrated sigh.

“Because if I talk about it, I’ll be able to let my emotions out, but then I’ll lose control and I’m not gonna be able to stop once it’s out there and you’re probably gonna think I’m a freak since that’s literally what I’m doing now.” Even though Veronica was the only person Heather’s truly been comfortable being herself around, there was still some fear of the girl leaving her once she thought Heather was too much. 

It was like there was this barrier that stopped Heather from fully opening herself to Veronica and letting her see the deepest parts of her. But still, there was no denying that Veronica still knew more about her than the Heathers, and they’ve been her best friends since they were kids.

“Well, that’s okay. I want to hear what’s on your mind.” One of the things Veronica regretted the most in her first life was not being able to save Heather from being poisoned by JD.

She was able to save Mac and she’s so thankful that she did, but it was like two Heathers had died that year. She was more close with Heather Duke out of all the Heathers until she saved Mac, so watching her friend fall under the same hold of her boyfriend hurt.

Part of her kept thinking that she could’ve done more, that she should’ve done more. Maybe if she got to Heather before JD, she’d be able to protect her from becoming Heather Chandler two-point-oh. Nobody could say they really knew who Heather Duke was. But many things have changed since Veronica went back in time, and this was one of the things she wanted to change.

“Really?” Heather asked in shock. Everytime she spoke her mind, she was always told to shut up, whether it was by Heather who could care less about what she said or boys who only cared about getting their dick wet.

“Yeah. But if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine too.” Another thing that shocked Heather about Veronica was how the girl always gave her more than one option. Heather always felt like she never had a choice.

“I guess I’m just afraid. Being part of the Heathers has been my normal for years, so having a taste of everyone else’s normal was such a wake up call. I went from being one of the most elite at Westerberg to nothing more than a footnote with one word from Heather Chandler. I knew all of it was fake, but I suddenly missed all the smiles and conversations I had with the preps and the cheerleaders. Now, it’s like nobody even wants me around anymore.” Heather let her eyes fall as she focused her attention on the grass she was sitting on.

Veronica looked at Heather with soft eyes, sad to see that Heather actually seemed like she believed what she was saying. Going onto territory the two have never crossed before, Veronica reached over and placed her hand on Heather’s which caused the girl’s head to shoot up, two pairs of brown eyes gazing into each other.

“Well, if it means anything… I want you around.”

Heather felt her heart pound in a way that’s never pounded before. She’s felt her heart race in anxiousness and nervousness, but this was a feeling that made her feel like she was on top of the world.

She doesn’t know how she hasn’t noticed before, but part of her was glad that she’s only noticed Veronica this way now. Especially with the way she looked at that moment. Bright orange and yellow hit against her as her eyes sparkled from the little bit of sun that had yet to set. Eyes that actually saw her as a person and not as an asset to have around.

“Say that again.” Heather said and Veronica’s eyes softened as she gripped Heather’s hand tighter.

“I want you around.”

Heather couldn’t stop herself from leaning forward and pressing her lips onto Veronica’s, hand shooting up to cup the girl’s cheek; revelling in the feeling of Veronica’s soft lips moving against hers.

She couldn’t blame it on the alcohol anymore, but Heather was drunk. Drunk with the feeling of being wanted and the feeling of being seen for once. All the emotions running through her in that moment were the emotions she thought she’d feel once she meant her prince charming.

But prince charming be damned, everything she needed was already in the girl in front of her.

Their hands roamed their bodies, exploring every part of them that they weren’t able to properly explore the first time around. Kisses slow, yet filled with want as Veronica placed her hand on the back of Heather’s head and wrapped the other against her waist as she slowly laid Heather down onto the grass.

“Is this okay?” Veronica whispered and Heather nodded eagerly, pulling Veronica closer by the back of her head. 

It was crazy. Two weeks ago, she would’ve reeled back in disgust at the thought of doing this again with Veronica. But now, Veronica was the only person she’d want to do this with. No boy she’s ever been had made her this special and she’d be damned if she didn’t let herself experience it over and over again.

It was dark out as Heather and Veronica were laying against the wall of Mrs. Sawyer’s garden. Veronica held Heather closer when she felt the girl shiver from the cold air hitting her bare skin while Heather leaned her head further into the crook of Veronica’s shoulder as she stared up at the sky which was mostly empty save for the few stars in it.

“Are we gonna talk about… this, or are we gonna forget it happened like last time?” Heather mumbled, breaking the silence between them.

“Hm, that depends. Do you want to forget about this?” Veronica asked, looking down at Heather who looked up into her eyes before she cupped Veronica’s cheek, leaning up and giving her a kiss.

“No, I don’t. But I don’t exactly know what this is.” Heather said, settling her head back to where it originally was while Veronica let out a content sigh. 

“Neither do I. It’s not everyday a Heather comes over to my house and sleeps with me in my backyard.” Veronica joked which made Heather let out a light groan, lazily hitting Veronica’s arm. 

“You always have to ruin it, huh?” She asked with a light chuckle.

It was silent between the two girls again, but both were content with simply laying in each other’s arms. Their heads were empty while swirling with many unanswered questions at the same time. 

“I never would’ve expected myself to become a lesbian in my senior year.” Heather said with an empty laugh.

“I don’t really see myself as one.” Veronica said, making Heather look up at her, resting her chin on Veronica’s shoulder.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I still like guys, I know that much. But, I did like what we did… And I like you.” Heather had to use all the willpower she had to keep her hands to herself.

“I wouldn’t be able to like boys if I was a lesbian. I don’t really see myself as any of that, I just see me as me.” Veronica said with a shrug and Heather let out a thoughtful hum at that.

“What about you? How do you feel?” Heather looked down, trying to find the answer to Veronica’s question. She didn’t even know if she actually had an answer to that.

“I don’t know. All of this is really new. I haven’t even had a crush on a boy since the fourth grade and I’ve never felt this way before in my life.” Heather said with a dry laugh.

“It’s all so overwhelming, Like what even is this? I used to make fun of lesbos, and now I am one? What, are we supposed to be lesbian for each other now? Are we supposed to be girlfriends now? It’s all so crazy.” Heather said with a stressed sigh which made Veronica hold onto her tighter.

“Hey, you don’t have to decide any of that right now. It’s confusing for the both of us. If you want us to stop this-”

“But that’s the thing, I don’t.” Heather interrupted.

“I don’t want this to stop. Just because I’ve never felt this way before doesn’t mean I don’t want to feel this way again. I guess I’m just scared of what that means.” 

“We can figure all of that out together. You can always be yourself around me.” Heather let out a sigh as she let herself fall further into the warm hold of Veronica Sawyer. 

Veronica wanted Heather. Whatever that meant, Heather didn’t care. Either way, she already loved this feeling and she never wanted to live a life without this feeling ever again.


	22. Join The Team or Bitch and Moan

Monday came around and instantly, Veronica could feel the difference in the air. Since coming back in time to fix her mistakes, Veronica has been looking over her shoulder, waiting for disaster to strike. It all just seemed too good to be true. Sure, there have been a few ups and downs, but when she walked into the halls of Westerberg that Monday morning, things just seemed calmer than she would like.

Sure, everyone was gossiping about how Heather Duke was being brought back as part of the Heathers, but that was just regular Westerberg. Veronica was at that point in her life where everything was so bad that the moment things were even a little bit good, she can’t bring herself to just enjoy the peace. So there she was struggling to get her things out of her locker due to her swimming thoughts about the next upcoming disaster.

The sound of tapping on the door of her locker made her jump, almost causing her things to fall to the ground, but she quickly scrambled to get them before they reached the floor. It wasn’t her fault that she was so on edge, and it didn’t help that was up all night due to nightmares either. 

“Woah, calm down, jumpy. It’s just me.” Veronica’s eyes widened as she shut the door of her locker to see a concerned Heather Duke standing there with slight concern on her face.

“Heather! You’re here. Talking to me… In public.” Veronica spoke, eyes darting around the hall to see some students watching them and glancing at them as they passed by. Well, this was… new.

“Don’t say it like that. Can’t I just say hi to you in the halls or something?” Heather asked with furrowed eyebrows as Veronica shifted on her feet, adjusting the strap of her backpack on her shoulder.

“Well, you can, but you usually don’t. Actually, you just don’t.” This caused Heather to roll her eyes until her eyes caught all the other eyes that were on them. Okay, the whole bravery thing Heather tried to convince herself earlier that morning could wait.

Heather grabbed Veronica’s arm and dragged her off to somewhere more private. At least she could manage being seen with her in public, but having conversations and showing everyone they were actually friends was a bit too much for her to handle. But baby steps. 

“Out.” Heather said in the coldest tone she could muster which caused the two sophomores hooking up in the empty classroom to scramble out of the room, quickly fixing their clothes and hair as they made sure not to meet the eyes of Heather Duke and not even bothering to question why she was with a nerd due to their own embarrassment.

“I think you just permanently scarred those poor sophomores.” Veronica said, closing the door as she watched the two walk off before facing Heather who sat on the teacher’s desk.

“They should’ve known better than to hook up this early in the morning, on a Monday too.” Heather said with a shrug. It wasn’t the first time her or the other Heathers had to clear a room just so they could have privacy to discuss amongst themselves.

“So, why did you need something? Unless you really just wanted to say hi, but I can tell something’s on your mind.” Veronica said, taking her backpack off and letting it fall on the floor as she leaned onto the white board. Meanwhile, Heather was looking down, trying to figure out what to say.

Things were different with Veronica now, so opening up was a little bit more embarrassing for her now. It won’t be the first time she’d tell Veronica everything on her mind, but after what happened two days ago, it was impossible not to feel different.

“You don’t need to say anything if you don’t want to.” Heather raised her head at the sound of Veronica’s voice. Her tone was gentle and her eyes gave her this caring and worried look and it made Heather’s heart feel warm. “If you just want some company, that’s fine too.” Heather sighed at this.

“Ever the charmer, really.” She mumbled which caused Veronica to raise an eyebrow at her. Though she ignored it, knowing that there was something more important to discuss than that, no matter how much it did made her feel good.

“Are you nervous?” Veronica asked and Heather couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes at this. “No, Veronica. I’m just so thrilled to be back in the Heathers with my oh so great best friend, Heather Chandler.” When she realized how her words came across, she let out a sigh, hand reaching up to rub at her eyes in frustration.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say it like that.” She said tiredly, but Veronica simply shrugged. “It’s fine, I get it. But really, what’s on your mind.” She pushed herself off from the board and walked over to Heather, lifting herself onto the desk so she was now sitting next to the girl.

“I guess I just don’t know if I’m ready to go back yet. Being in the Heathers was what was normal for me for such a long time, but having a taste of what it’s like to actually be normal for once, it doesn’t seem all that bad. Sure, being a part of the Heathers is all I’ve been for the past few years, but none of it is gonna matter at the end of the year.” Heather shrugged and Veronica sent her a small smile to show her support.

“At least you can tell people about how you were one of the popular girls at school.” Heather let out a laugh at that, both from amusement and sadness. “I don’t think that title really holds much. As if I can put on my college application ‘Second in command to the mythic bitch.’” Veronica let out a hum in thought at that.

“At least it’s unique?” Heather rolled her eyes playfully at that, lightly pushing Veronica’s shoulder with her own. “But anyway, I think you’ll be fine.” Veronica added, placing her hand on Heather’s shoulder to show her support. “You managed to get this far, just a few more months and you can be free to be normal. Though I already think you’re normal, which is pretty great.” 

Heather looked up at Veronica and found herself letting out a sigh when she caught the girl’s eyes. The distance (or lack thereof) didn’t help her with her growing temptation as she reached her hand up to cup the girl’s cheek before leaning up and placing her lips onto her. Veronica’s eyes widened before closing them and holding onto Heather’s waist. 

“I didn’t expect that.” Veronica said when they pulled away, both trying to catch their breath as they were equally shocked by the kiss that just happened. “You just always seem to know what to say.” Heather mumbled and Veronica’s eyes softened before they darted down to Heather’s lips. Unable to help herself, Veronica leaned back in and the two were at it again.

They never properly talked about what this meant for either of them and this was the first time they became intimate after the incident in Veronica’s backyard. It was hard to decide what they were when they didn’t even know what they were as individuals quite yet. But they were attracted to each other, that was something they both knew. Though they talked over the phone the day before, this thing was still unspoken territory and they were both waiting for one of them to cross that line and make it real.

To her own surprise, Heather had more balls than she thought. She climbed onto Veronica’s lap and ran her fingers through the girl’s hair, shivering as she felt Veronica’s hands explore her body, gentle yet a little bit rough as she squeezed her in just the right places which made her squirm. When Veronica stuck her tongue inside her mouth, Heather couldn’t help but push Veronica down onto the desk. Veronica let out a huff from the sudden force, about to make a comment when Heather quickly went back to kissing her.

“Hooking up this early? On a Monday too?” Veronica let out a dramatic gasp. “How scandalous, I could never.” Veronica said, placing her hand on her chest which made Heather let out a snicker before cupping the girl’s cheek and placing multiple kisses from behind Veronica’s ear down to her jaw.

“Well, if you don’t want to.” When she felt Heather start to pull away, Veronica quickly pulled her back and connected their lips together once more. This time, it was more fast, more needy as Veronica unbuttoned Heather’s blazer, untucking Heather’s blouse before letting her arms slither under, reveling in the feeling of Heather shivering at her touch as she ran her hands up and down the girl’s body, getting close to the girl’s breast, but not too close to give the girl what she wanted.

Sex wasn’t something Veronica thought about a lot. She had plenty of other things to think about (whether she wanted to or not) and her hormones weren’t one of her priorities. But when she was offered the opportunity, there was no way she was going to say no. Sex was a good way to keep Veronica’s mind off of certain things as it gave her something to focus on. Yet sex with someone she fully found attractive and genuinely enjoyed being around was different. Everything about Veronica and Heather was different.

Heather was completely different to what Veronica was used to. Then again, she didn’t have much material to compare Heather to. There was her first boyfriend who she was barely interested in, that junior who she lost her virginity to because she just wanted to get it over with already, and of course… JD. The boy she once thought was the love of her life, and even now, she wasn’t sure. There was no denying

Heather gripped Veronica’s jacket tightly in her fists as she pulled her up to her, letting out a gasp as her eyes rolled back slightly at the feeling of Veronica leaving trails of kisses down her neck. In a rush, Heather started taking Veronica’s jacket off, wanting to feel more of the girl as she felt herself more and more worked up. 

She was just about to throw Veronica’s jacket somewhere in the room when she heard the door open. Heather let out a loud yelp as she threw Veronica’s jacket onto her face and pushed her down so she was lying against the desk, praying that her body and the jacket was enough to hide the fact that Heather was messing around with a girl.

Heather turned around and glared at the poor freshman who walked in on whatever that was. “Unless you want next three years of your life to be complete hell, you better get the fuck out!” The girl squeaked in fear before quickly leaving the room, shutting the door behind her. Heather let out a sigh as she took the jacket off of Veronica’s face, the girl shooting up with a loud gasp.

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic.” Heather said with a snicker as she got off of Veronica, throwing her jacket at the girl who easily caught it. She was thankful that Veronica was wearing pants and sneakers that day because it would be harder to explain why the person she was hooking up with was wearing a skirt and flats or heels. Heather ducked her head down as she fixed her blouse before buttoning her blazer.

“What? No more sexy times?” Veronica asked jokingly, making her voice go deeper to imitate a horny high school boy. This caused Heather to roll her eyes as she turned to Veronica who was still sitting on the desk, fixing her own clothes before putting her denim jacket back on. 

“Don’t get your panties in a twist.” Heather said as she tried to see her reflection on the white board so she could fix her hair. “I’m sorry, but aren’t you the one who jumped me? Three times in a row too. You should get an award.” Heather let out a scoff, turning around and playfully slapping Veronica on the arm. 

“You should take that as a sign that you should make the first move this time. Not very chivalrous of you to make me do all the work.” Heather said, leaning against the board and playfully pouting at the girl who let out a light laugh. “Are you saying I’m the one wearing the pants here?” She asked which made Heather let out a snort.

“No, that’s definitely me.” She joked which made Veronica raise her eyebrows at her in amusement. “And you don’t exactly fall into the boyish category. But between the two of us, I’m definitely the more feminine one.” Veronica shrugged at that before hopping off the desk., patting down her jacket a bit more before facing Heather with a small smile.

“Are you gonna be okay?” Heather looked out the door and thought about what would be waiting for her once she left the room. This was her last moment of being normal (well, as normal as she could be) before going back to being solid teflon. Though part of her was already coming to terms with life as a nobody because she finally found someone who made her feel like somebody, she had an obligation as a Heather. An obligation she couldn't get out of.

With a sigh, she answered, “I’ll live.” She crossed her arms and looked down before letting out a breath and turning to Veronica, returning her small. “Thanks for keeping me company though.” She reached out and placed her hand on Veronica’s arm, squeezing it a bit before facing the door again. 

“Same as the library, leave a few minutes after me.” Veronica waved at the girl when she turned back to face her. Veronica was ready to just sit down and do nothing when Heather ran up to her, cupped both sides of her face before giving her one more kiss. 

It was sweeter this time, less rushed and needy. Veronica’s hold on Heather’s waist was gentle, the two taking their time as they moved their lips against each other. Heather separated from Veronica, giving her one last soft peck on the lips before stepping back and looking away, cheeks turning slightly red as she let out a cough.

“We, uh… We should, maybe, continue this some other time…” Veronica couldn’t help the laugh that escaped out of her mouth, looking down and shaking her head in amusement before looking back up to Heather, pushing the hair that had fallen on her face back with her hand as she smiled fondly at the girl in front of her.

“Goodluck, Heather.” Heather didn’t like how her heart flipped due to the look Veronica was giving her. She cleared her throat, nodding slowly as she made her way to the door, hesitating as she tried to figure out if she should say anything else or just leave. In the end, Heather just gave Veronica an awkward wave before quickly leaving the room. She didn’t miss the light laugh from Veronica which caused her to take a deep breath in when she felt her heart warm. 

She shook her head and glared at the two friends who passed by her and gave her a weird look before making her way to the bathroom to meet the other Heathers. It was crazy, because she’s been worrying about them all morning, but after her… ‘interaction’ with Veronica, Heather felt more calm about the situation. If that was going to be a regular thing wasn’t something Heather wanted to dwell on that moment.

When she was faced with the door to the girl’s bathroom, she took a second for herself, tensing up slightly when she heard the familiar voices of her best friends waiting inside. Apparently the whole school was just as anxious as she was seeing as she felt all their eyes on her, waiting with bated breath to see what the outcast Heather was going to do now that she’s served her sentence.

Deciding to just fuck it, Heather opened the door entered the bathroom where Heather Chandler and Heather McNamara was standing by, fixing their makeup and hair in front of the mirror by the sinks. Their chatter stopped once their eyes caught the third member of their trio. Their stare caused Duke to become tense, shifting on her feet as she tried to figure out what she was supposed to do. 

“Are you just gonna stand there like a pillowcase all day or are you gonna join us?” Heather asked, turning back to the mirror and touching up her hair. With a gulp, Heather walked over and stood next to Mac who was standing next to Heather. Mac sent her friend a smile which calmed Heather down a bit.

“God, Heather. First day back and you’re already using your reclaimed status to spread your legs for the nearest guy who’d take you.” Heather said, her words meant to be joking, but Duke could feel the sting of disapproval hidden beneath them. Word sure travels fast in Westerberg.

“Sorry, Heather.” She didn’t really know what she was apologizing for, but it was familiar. Something she could say to make her get used to the atmosphere she’s been away from for what felt like months. Heather simply rolled her eyes and ignored the girl. Meanwhile, Mac turned to Duke, smiling as bright as ever as she handed her some lipstick.

“Yours is a bit smeared, just wanted to give you a heads up.” Duke quickly turned to the mirror and noticed that her lipstick was, in fact, smeared. She let out an exasperated scoff, wiping it away with her hand and taking the lipstick from Mac, quietly thanking the girl before touching her up her makeup. 

“You better gained some gossip while you were away. Things have been too boring here lately, I want to mess shit up.” This caused a breath of relief, yet also tiredness to fall from Duke’s lips. Heather was never one to beat around the bush. Heather was the type of person to burn the entire bush down without a second thought.

There wasn’t going to be any awkwardness between them. Probably some malice, mostly vocalized on Heather’s parts. But at the end of the thing, it was like things didn’t change inside their little group. Heather was still the almighty and Heather was nothing more than her second in command where she could easily be mistaken as for a puppy. The only difference is now that the hold Heather Chandler had on her seemed tighter on her. No doubt that if she made a mistake again, the demon queen wasn’t going to be as merciful. 

Duke wondered if her life would’ve turned out better if Heather Chandler had just kicked her out of the Heathers permanently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I don't really write smut or anything of the sorts. You could probably tell that from the two times I skipped writing the sex scenes between Heather and Veronica. I tried before, but I just never thought I was any good at it. But I needed to fill this chapter up somehow, so I thought why not. Take this as an epilogue to the first half of Dukesaw and Heather Duke's story (yes, first HALF, it hurts for me because I still have so much planned and that means being a responsible writer and actually updating to get to that point) before I move on to focus on the other characters. Heather Duke will of course still be in chapters, but the story isn't going to focus on her too much. I don't want to give away too much though. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter and didn't cringe too much at my attempt to write something sTeAmY. The most scandalous thing I've ever written is intense hand holding, and if you want to read that, check out my Chansaw fic called This Thing Called Life. Yes, I just plugged my story in another story, how meta.


	23. It's Still The Same Me Underneath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was longer than I intended it too, but it's fine. Just means way more content for you guys.

A few days passed and Veronica felt like things were looking up. Sure, her nightmares were still going, they were just as bad as before; the hallucinations kept coming and there were moments where Veronica felt like she was drowning in her own guilt and shame, but Veronica felt like all of that would never go away. On the bright side of it all, everyone seemed to be more happy than when she first came here.

Heather was a good friend to have, plus whatever they had going on wasn’t a bad plus to have. Mac didn’t ignore her anymore, nor did she think Veronica was manipulating her anymore, so she started smiling and saying hi to her when they ran into each other in the halls. JD was also very good company to have. He always knew how to make her laugh and they would both share stories about how they deal through their problems. Martha and her had a better relationship than before because Veronica actually made sure to not get too distracted to forget her. Not to mention, Heather Chandler was alive.

It all seemed too good to be true, but JD told her to just enjoy the good things and not let it be ruined in fear of the bad. JD was basically like a personal therapist for Veronica and she paid him through slushies and lunch at the diner. They were there right now, actually. The diner opened up again a few days after Dawn gave birth, but she was currently on leave. But Jenna, Becky and Cal were still there. Apparently Dawn named her baby Washington and part of Veronica still doesn’t understand why that was, but apparently it was important to her and her husband.

“So, what’s been going on with Veronica Sawyer these days?” JD asked with a smirk filled with intrigue, causing Veronica to laugh. “Nothing much, life has been pretty calm. Besides, you pretty much know all my deepest darkest secrets, so if something was going on, you’d know.” Veronica joked which caused a chuckle to fall from JD’s mouth as he leaned back and drank from the slushie he bought before coming to the diner.

“I heard you’ve been hanging around with a Heather now. Must be exciting.” Veronica tensed up a bit at that. Out of everyone in this world, Veronica should know that the Heathers don’t really mix with exchange students in black trench coats. So she laughed it off, not wanting to make a big deal out of it in case something bigger comes out of it. “Where’d you hear that from?” JD let out a sigh as he shifted in his seat.

“The halls of Westerberg are never bare of gossip, no matter how insignificant it may be. Some people have been saying that they’ve seen you and the green Heather talking to each other every now and again.” Well, Veronica shouldn’t really be surprised at that. Ever since Heather and Veronica started hooking up, they’ve become closer. 

It was shocking that Heather made the first move to break the boundary of not talking to each other in public anymore. It was only a matter of time before people started noticing, and honestly, Veronica and Heather didn’t care. Well, Duke was still kind of worried about how Heather would react to it, seeing as her reaction with Mac wasn’t so good, but part of her didn’t care. It wasn’t like they were trying to hide it anymore. Heather finally had someone she was sure she could call a friend. She wasn’t about to hide that like it was some secret.

“Yeah, it’s a pretty… Recent development.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. Their fully formed friendship was recent, Veronica never said anything about when they started actually talking. “What’s it like? Does she spill all the dirt on everyone to you? Try to make you do their evil bidding and dress you up like one of them?” Veronica couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her mouth, hand going up to cover it as the giggles kept slipping through.

The irony of it all was hilarious to Veronica. In another time, she would’ve complained all about it to JD, but now, they were more like fond memories to look back on, minus all the murder and manipulation of course. But Veronica already thought about that enough, she didn’t need to think about it now. Though now that she thinks about it, she does kind of miss her blue blazer.

“God, no, not at all. Me and Heather barely talk about the Heathers unless it’s a particularly bad day. She’s cool, nothing like how she makes people see her.” Veronica said, being fully honest this time when talking about her friend. “Color me shocked. So they do have souls?” JD asked in amusement and disbelief, leaning forward and resting his arms on the table.

“Hey, come on. Everybody’s life has got static. Is your life perfect?” JD shook his head at that with an amused smile in his face, silently telling that Veronica had a point. “Well, you got me there.” He said, raising his hands in defense which made Veronica laugh. The bell on the entrance of the diner rang and JD’s eyes fell on the new patrons that entered. After recognizing who the two were, a smirk spread on his face.

“Speaking of the Heathers.” JD gestured over behind Veronica, causing the girl to turn around, eyes widening slightly to see Heather Mac with a man much taller than her go to sit at an empty table. “Which one is that one again?” JD asked and Veronica was about to turn back to him when Heather’s eyes met hers, the yellow girl’s eyes widening in slight shock.

“That’s Heather McNamara.” After the shock passed, Heather sent Veronica a small smile with a wave, Veronica waving back in reply. “Ah, so you’re friends with two Heathers. Soon enough you’ll be joining the street light crusade.” Veronica rolled her eyes playfully before turning back to JD. “No thank you. I don’t think turning into a Heather will be very good for me.” Veronica said as she got her coffee.

“Ah, well would you look at that.” The intrigue in JD’s voice caught Veronica’s attention as she turned back around to see Heather standing up now, seemingly bickering with the man before she let out a groan and reluctantly started walking over to them with her head down.

She put on an awkward smile when she was now standing next to Veronica and JD’s table, fiddling with her fingers as she tried to figure out what to say. “So… Hi.” Heather said awkwardly, waving slightly and JD simply raised his slushie up at her. “Hey Heather…” Veronica said, her tone more questioning than awkward. After their brief talk at the cafeteria, her and Mac never really talked. Just small smiles and waves in passing. 

“So, I’m really sorry if I’m interrupting, but my dad saw me wave at you and he told me to tell you guys to come over and sit with us.” JD raised his eyebrows in amusement, turning to Veronica who narrowed her eyes slightly at him. “But I know, that’s so stupid, so I just came over here cause he kept pushing, but I can just tell him that you guys don’t want to, it’s fine.” Veronica opened her mouth to tell her that it was fine when JD beat her to it. 

“Oh, we would love to sit with you and your dad.” Veronica’s face became confused as she turned to JD’s with furrowed eyebrows. “Really?” Veronica asked. “Y-You would?” Mac stuttered out, not expecting that response. “Why not? It’ll be a fun bonding experience.” JD said and Mac eyed him warily, Veronica doing the same. 

“O-Oh, well, okay then… I’ll just go tell my dad.” Mac walked off and Veronica turned to JD with a curious and suspicious look. “What do you think you’re doing?” JD simply shrugged as he got up from his seat. “Come on, it’ll be educational. Maybe seeing a Heather out of her element will convince me that she’s actually human.” Veronica couldn’t even protest because JD was already walking towards the McNamaras. With a sigh, she got up and followed behind him.

“Okay, so we’re doing this.” Veronica muttered to herself as she got up and followed behind him as well. Once they arrived, Heather’s dad smiled brightly at them, reminding Veronica of his own daughter’s smile. Though at that moment, Mac wasn’t smiling as she was too busy hiding her face in the menu to do so.

“You two must be friends of my daughter! Heather always talks about her friends, but I’ve only ever met two. It’s always nice to meet more.” Now Veronica understood where Heather got her bubbly side from. If the man was frowning, he’d be the most intimidating person in the world. Tall, big figure, dark hair with a bearded face, all traits that were present on the man. But instead of intimidating, the man was the exact personification of a teddy bear.

“Nice to meet you, Sir. I’m Jason Dean, but please, call me JD.” Veronica raised an eyebrow at JD. Sure, JD met her parents before and he charmed them very easily. But in that situation, Veronica thought he only did that because he was her boyfriend and he wanted to impress her family. Turns out Jason Dean was just good with parents.

“I’m Veronica. No nickname, just Veronica.” Truth be told, she’s never formally met Mr. McNamara before. The only thing she knew about him she actually met him was that he was loaded, but everyone knew that already. When she finally met him though, he was nice, but too tired to actually converse with her. Whenever she visited Heather’s house, her dad would always be out at work and when he was home, he’d always be doing more work in his office or just asleep in his room.

She’s never even met Heather’s parents before and Veronica wonders if Heather even had parents because her house was always empty, and she’s never been to Duke’s house before, so she’s never met her family either. She doesn’t even know if any of these girls have siblings. The more she thought about it, the more Veronica realized that she never really knew the Heathers in the way she thought she did.

At the mention of her name, Heather’s dad seemed to light up as he sat up in his seat. “Oh, so you’re Veronica! You’re the one who’s been tutoring Heather! You’re doing an amazing job by the way. I’ve never seen Heather more proud about her grades and I couldn’t be prouder! I saw her latest test scores and they’re such a great improvement. I would love to talk to you further on making this an official thing and-”

“Dad! Dad!” Heather exclaimed, face red as her dad turned to her with a confused look on his face. “What? I just-”

“Dad, stop it.” The air became more tense because of this. Heather’s dad was frowning at his daughter while Mac sat there, looking down as she glared at the table in front of her. This caused Veronica to frown as well, not understanding why Mac was acting that way towards her dad. It was a complete personality switch from what Veronica was used to. She turned to JD who seemed more amused about the situation than anything which made her glare at him. 

Not wanting any more time to be passed with silence, Heather’s dad cleared his throat and turned back to the two with another smile on his face, though smaller and more calm. “I’m Charles McNamara, but please, call me Charlie.” Charlie said as he got up and shook Veronica and JD’s hands. “No sirs or misters, the growing grey hair already does enough to make me feel old.” The man said with a laugh as the two sat down. Charlie and Heather sitting next to each other while Veronica and JD sat across from the two. 

“What brings you two to Lulu’s Pies? It’s pretty far off from Sherwood when there are plenty of good restaurants near there.” JD asked and Charlie seemed delighted that JD was willing to participate in conversation with him. Veronica, on the other hand, was more focused on Heather who still looked upset. When she felt eyes on her, Heather looked up and met Veronica’s eyes, the girl silently asking if she was okay through the mere expression on her face. This caused Heather’s face to soften, lightly nodding as she looked back down, grabbing one of the napkins and picking at the edges of it with her fingers.

“Oh, well I was on my way back late from work and I needed to eat dinner somehow and I found this place. I absolutely loved it. The food is amazing and the service is incredible, I just had to show Heather. So I took some time off of work and brought her here.” Charlie explained and JD nodded with a smile on his face.

“But how about you two? This diner is a bit of a long ride from Westerberg and school just got out twenty minutes ago.” Veronica decided to speak up, not wanting to leave the conversation all up to JD because she knew that JD would say anything he wanted to until someone stopped him. So Veronica decides to stop him now before JD would get to the point where he started saying very problematic things.

“We go here through JD’s motorcycle. Not all that used to it yet since it’s still pretty new to me, but it gets us from school to here real quick.” That was mostly a lie. Veronica had ridden on JD’s motor bike more times than she could count, but what she said about not getting used to it was true. Veronica doesn’t think she’ll ever get used to the thrill of being around Jason Dean.

“You have a motorcycle?” Charlie seemed to light up about this fact, causing JD to be intrigued at the potential discussion on motorcycles. “I do. It’s out front if you want to check it out.” It was amusing, seeing a grown man get so excited over a vehicle in a way a dog would get excited on seeing its owner come back home. “I would love to! I had one back when I was young, it was this beautiful Harvey. But I got into an accident that broke my arm and I haven’t ridden one ever since.” 

JD smiled and turned to Veronica as he stood up. “Unless you want to geek over a hunk of metal, the two of us will be out in the parking lot.” JD said and the two boys got up before leaving the diner. Veronica smiled as she watched them through the window before the sound of clattering caught her attention. She turned to Mac who had gotten another napkin front he dispenser, but this time a little too hard.

There were multiple bits of tissue paper on the table as she could barely make up a tiny one with it’s edges ripped to pieces. Veronica looked back up to Heather who was so focused on the napkin in front of her, breathing heavily as if to calm herself. Though she wasn’t speaking, Veronica could clearly see all the words Mac wished to say rushing through her head in that moment.

“Hey, are you okay?” Veronica realized too late that there were better words and questions out there.

“I don’t know does it look like-” Heather’s raised voice caught the attention of other people and once she realized her actions, she let out a sigh, eyes softening as she buried her head in her hand, rubbing her eyes in a stressful manner. 

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have shouted like that. I didn’t mean to blow up at you.” She said with a sigh while Veronica simply smiled and nodded in understanding. “In retrospect, that was a very stupid question to ask.” Mac let out light laughter at that before her eyes landed on her dad and JD through the window, the two geeking out over motorcycles and other stuff that Mac didn’t really bother dwelling on.

“Do you want to talk about it or…?” Mac continued to stare at her dad before shaking her head and turning to Veronica. “No. Honestly, I really don’t.” She said and Veronica nodded as she tried to think of something to divert the conversation away from Mac and her relationship with her dad.

“So, you’ve been keeping up with your grades?” Mac seemed to lighten up at the change of conversation, even managing to get a small smile on her face. “Yeah. I just- I thought it would be stupid to stop just because you weren’t helping me anymore. I didn’t just want to depend on you so I wanted to continue doing it. There’s still some stuff that I have a hard time understanding on my own, but I’m doing pretty well.” Veronica smiled at how proud of herself Mac genuinely sounded when talking about her grades.

“That sounds great, I’m really glad to hear that. If you ever need help with anything, you’re always free to call me and ask.” The usual smile Veronica was used to seeing came back on Mac’s face and she couldn’t help but smile back. “Thanks Veronica.” 

“So, how’s life as a Heather now that Heather Duke is back again?” Veronica asked. Mac brightened up at that, seemingly forgetting why she was even upset in the first place. “It’s good actually! Heather has fallen right back into place with us and she actually seems happier now. I don’t know if it’s because she’s just happy to be back or what.” Veronica couldn’t help but smile fondly at that.

“Do you know why? I know you two hang out, maybe you can tell me so I know what to do to keep her happy.” Veronica raised her eyebrows in amusement at that. “You really look out for your friends, huh?” She asked which made Heather giggle.

“Well, yeah. I like Heather, she’s one of my best friends, so I like seeing her happy. She’s always so grouchy and quiet, but even if it’s not obvious, I can tell she’s happier now and I want to keep it that way. Things are always better when my friends are happy.” Veronica leaned back in her seat and smiled softly at Mac. 

“That’s very admirable of you.” Heather smiled widely at Veronica until a thought entered her mind, causing that smile to slowly fade away. “About that… I’m really sorry for never reaching out after everything. I’m still pretty confused about the whole thing, but I’m sure of one thing though.” 

“Yeah? What’s that?” Veronica asked.

“That you’re not a bad person.” Veronica felt her breath hitch at that, chest tightening as Mac’s words swirled in her mind, causing her to become slightly light headed. Barely even processing what Mac was saying next. “

I’m pretty sure that Heather is more happy now because you two are friends. Even though we know a lot of people, the only people we really hang out with are ourselves. But I think Heather just seems happier now that you two are friends. So if Heather gets to be happy because of you, then there’s no way you could be a bad person.” 

A bad person. Veronica doesn’t really know how she could define herself anymore. She so badly wants to believe that she’s a good person. She tries hard to redeem herself, to do things to make up for all the horrible things she’s done, but there’s just no erasing what happened. Even if she was sent back in time by some weird force of nature, everything that happened back then will always stick to her. When things get good, it somehow always comes back to haunt her.

So hearing someone call her something other than a bad person when the only things she’s labeled herself for the past few months was nothing but a bad person was pretty hard to hear. 

“Veronica?” She looked up at the sound of her name, but Veronica froze in her seat. The girl she was looking at in front of her wasn’t the bubbly girl in yellow she was just talking to. No, it was a broken girl with messed up mascara trailing down her eyes along with tears as she tried to choke down the pills she took to end it all. Veronica felt her hands shaking, trying to convince herself that it wasn’t real, that it was just her mind playing tricks on her.

Veronica was a bad person. No amount of good deeds would change the fact that she took the lives of four teenagers who barely had the chance to start and almost cost the lives of two other teenagers because of those murders. Tears sprung to her eyes as Veronica gripped the hand rest of her chairs tightly, doing her best to just stay still and not break down in the middle of a diner which was already fading from her vision.

But then a hand was placed on her shoulder, snapping her out of her near panic attack. She looked up to see JD who had seemingly come back from the parking lot with Charlie who was now sitting next to his daughter, both with concerned looks on their faces. 

“Well, it’s been a long day. I think me and Veronica should head home. Right, Veronica?” JD asked and Veronica looked up at the boy who gave her a knowing look. She swallowed down and slowly nodded her head, grabbing her bag and getting up.

“Was it something I said?” Mac asked in concern. Veronica quickly shook her head, slightly regretting it as it only made it feel more light. “No, no. I just suddenly got this weird rush in my head. It’s not anything personal. I think I just need to head home and rest up.” Veronica sent Mac the best smile she could muster in that moment and though Mac didn’t really believe it, she didn’t think it was in her place to push, so she simply nodded in reply.

“I hope you two get home safe. It was nice meeting you two and I also hope you get well soon, Veronica.” Charlie said and JD and Veronica shook the man’s hand once more before leaving. 

“You gonna be okay there?” JD asked, his arm wrapped around Veronica’s shoulder as he held her close in case she would collapse. Veronica merely sighed, leaning into the boy as her hand reached up to hold his, reveling in the familiar feeling of her ex’s touch.

“I will be. Nothing new.” When Veronica got home, JD wanted to walk the girl to her door in case something else happens. It took a lot of convincing on Veronica’s part, but JD just ended up waiting on his bike until Veronica reached her door before driving off.

Wanting nothing more than to just go to her room, go to sleep and probably cry for a while, Veronica was shocked to see Martha sitting in her living room having tea with her mom. 

“Oh, Veronica, there you are! We’ve been waiting for you here for so long. Here, have some Pâté.” Veronica’s mom got up and went over to her daughter, taking a piece of the snack and handing it to Veronica before patting her face and making a move to go to the kitchen. 

“I’ll let you two have your girl talk. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need anything and it was nice talking to you, Martha!” Martha smiled and waved at Veronica’s mom while the daughter went over to the couch and sat next to Martha, eating the food her mom gave her.

“Are you okay? You look a little pale.” Martha said, a frown on her face which was caused by concern from the state her best friend was in. But Veronica merely brushed it off, shaking her head at the comment. “Yeah, just a long day.” She said as she finished her Pâté, brushing her hands against each other to get rid of the crumbs that came from the bread. 

“Anyway, what’s up? I thought movie night was tomorrow, it’s only Thursday.” Veronica spoke as she shifted in her seat to face Martha. “Oh, nothing really. I just didn’t have anything to do and I felt like hanging out. I just really missed you.” Veronica smiled at her best friend, feeling lighter because of what she said. One thing that didn’t change in this timeline was Martha and Veronica was very thankful for that fact.

“Aw, that’s so sweet. But you saw me earlier during history.” Veronica said. 

“I know. I just feel like we’ve both been busy lately that we haven’t just properly hung out besides movie night.” Now that Veronica thought about it, she has been preoccupied with a lot of things and she hasn’t really seen much of Martha either. Save for the times where they would eat lunch with each other and their movie nights, of course. But sometimes, Martha would be doing something during lunch that made her just hang out at the library with Heather.

“Well, neither of us are busy right now. Let’s just hang out right now.” Veronica said and Martha smiled brightly at her friend. “Yeah, I’d like that.” Veronica smiled back and leaned over to grab the remote on their coffee table, turning on their and flipping through channels to see what was on until they landed on a channel that was playing a rerun of Grease.

“Ooh, I love this scene.” Veronica said as she put the remote back down and leaned back in her seat. It was the scene where Rydell was having their dance and a camera crew was there to film the students competing to be on tv while dancing.

“I don’t think anyone in Westerberg could dance like that. Imagine them trying to dance in front of a camera crew, it’d be a wreck.” Veronica said as she laughed at the thought that entered her mind. Martha laughed at the joke as well before speaking up.

“Yeah. Remember when Ms. Fleming brought that tv crew to school for that suicide awareness thing?” Veronica laughed loudly at that as she remembered the entire mess. “Oh my god! That shit was such a disaster! I still can’t believe that they let Flemming keep her job and-”

Veronica was mid sentence when she realized what Martha had said. She turned to her friend with shock written all over her face. Martha’s smile softened as she nodded at Veronica, eyes turning red as tears started to form in her eyes. 

“Martha… A-Are you…?” Veronica asked, not knowing if this was another trick that her brain was playing on her. It wasn’t even something that she considered. It just didn’t seem possible but if it was. Veronica got her answer when Martha took off her glasses and wiped at her eyes before looking at Veronica with the same amount of hurt Veronica carried in her eyes.

“Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't ended the story in a cliffhanger in awhile which is why I decided to just squeeze that last part in there instead of adding it to it's own individual chapter. I hope you liked this part though! This part has been a long time coming and I'm really proud of myself for making it this far. My whole idea and plan for this story is really coming together and it's kinda making me emotional cause this is the farthest I've gotten with a fic.
> 
> I've made many achievements before when it came to writing, but this fic is just very different from anything else I've ever written. I just wanted to say that I'm really grateful for everyone who read this book and thought it was good. I appreciate every comment left on this story, I read all of them and sometimes I read them over and over again. This fic is just really special to me and I'm just so happy that I didn't give up on it like many of my other stories.


	24. She's Got A Huge Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This shit took longer than expected to write. Actually, this was supposed to come the day after I posted the last chapter but shit happened, blah blah blah. Anyway, here it is.

Something was off. After how successful last night was, Martha should feel giddy and excited. But it just felt like there was this heavy presence on her chest. Something that dimmed her days and lowered her motivation to do anything. It wasn’t something she could explain, it was just there. 

Walking down the halls of Westerberg, it was like Martha was in a completely different environment. The faces were all the same, yet they were all so drastically different. When seeing Ram in the halls, she could no longer feel the familiar feeling of warmth every time she saw him. Instead, it was replaced by this aching feeling that made her want to run into the bathrooms and cry.

Why Martha was feeling this way was beyond her, all she knew was that she wanted it to stop. She just wanted everything to go back to normal. She should be happy, so why wasn’t she? Why did things have to change after one of the greatest nights in her life? 

She needed to find Veronica. Veronica always somehow knew how to calm her down and that’s all she needed in that moment. But she found it hard to get up. At that moment, she was sitting in the bathroom stall, hands shaking as she held onto her chest, as if that would be the solution to the pain she felt. 

The sound of heels clicking filled her ears, followed by the sound of the door opening. She was about to get up and leave the stall so other girls could use it for their own business, but the owners of those voices filled her ears.

“It feels so weird not having Heather with us. Don’t you think you were a bit too harsh on her?” Heather McNamara said, frowning up at Heather Chandler who rolled her eyes while taking out a tube of lipstick.

“Don’t be so naive, Heather.” She said as she popped the cap off and started reapplying hers. There was no way Martha could go out now. It was common knowledge in Westerberg that the girl’s bathroom was reserved for the Heathers every eight am. Being inside there when it was their time was social suicide, and Martha doesn’t think she could handle being humiliated this early in the day.

“Heather was out of line. I’m not just going to let her get away with doing that. She needs to learn her place and a little time in purgatory won’t be so bad.” Heather said, checking her lips in the mirror before putting away the lipstick and turning to Mac. 

“Here, you need a little touch up.” In that moment, Martha felt a large surge of pain shoot through her head, causing her hand to shoot up and grip it, hitting the tissue dispenser in the process. 

The loud clashing caused by Martha’s hand made the two Heathers quickly pull away from shock. Rage made its way onto Heather’s features as she approached the stall where the noise came from and started banging on the door. 

“Heather-” Mac approached the girl, hand reaching up but quickly retracted it when Heather started shouting. 

“Whoever you are, you better get your damn ass out of here before I drag you out myself.” She shouted.

Martha flinched with every strike that landed on the door, pushing herself deeper and deeper as if it would hide herself from this whole mess. 

“Open the door! Open the door!” Suddenly, Martha wasn’t in the stall anymore. Martha thinks that she isn’t even in her own body anymore.

It looked like she was in a closet, breathing heavily as her pulse pounded in her ears. Behind her was faint shouting but very loud banging being hit against the door. In her hands was a long bed sheet which she was wrapping around her body; no longer full, but slim. The voice shouting behind her became louder and she could distinctively recognize whose voice it was.

She worked quickly, wrapping the rest of the sheet around her neck before putting on a shirt and a blazer to cover it up, quickly tying the other end and tying it around the ceiling fan above her. The knocking got louder before it stopped completely, the only sound coming from the outside was counting. A deep breath before closing her eyes, the eyes of the person Martha was seeing closed as she felt the feet kick away the chair they were previously standing on. 

The only sound she could hear next was the sound of a door crashing open.

“Martha Dunnstock!” Her eyes shot open and she was met with the pale face of Heather Chandler; dead eyes, a streak of blue dripping down her mouth as she wore a kimono that looked like it’s seen better days. Martha let out a scream as she fell back, slipping on the toilet she was sitting on and landing on the floor. 

“Did you eat a brain tumor for breakfast or something?” Martha felt her head spinning as she looked up. Gone were the dead eyes staring back at her earlier and back was the face she was used to seeing. She couldn’t even hear Heather shouting at her, nor could she feel the finger hardly jabbing at her shoulder. Her head spun as it all came back, but even as her mind was reborn, she still couldn’t pinpoint where those memories came from, knowing that it wasn’t hers. 

All she could think of in that moment was ‘I remember.’

“So you remember.” Veronica said in disbelief as she buried her head in her hands, letting out a tired sigh. She could barely process anything as Martha told her about how she first remembered everything, followed by how she went through the next two weeks trying to figure out what to do.

“Yeah, I do. I was right, too. You do remember.” Veronica slowly raised her head to face Martha who looked close to tears. “Yeah, I do.” She said, her throat dry as she tried to manage her feelings. 

“I thought I was alone. I didn’t know what to do, I don’t know why I was sent to this place. Things were finally good. I had you back and I was even friends with Mac, and I-” A sob cut through Martha’s throat and Veronica surged forward, wrapping her best friend in her arms and holding her tight, letting her cry into her shoulders as she tried to keep her own tears in. 

This was a lot to take in, especially after what just happened in the diner with Mac. For the longest time, Veronica also felt alone. She had to go through all of this alone while having to face her own demons and it was so hard. Being the only person who knew of the tragedies that fell upon Westerberg in this new timeline was a big burden to carry. But even though Martha didn’t know all of it, she was still there. She was there when those events happened and she’s here now. 

“I missed you so much.” Veronica said, barely even able to say it out loud as she held Martha closer to her, letting her own tears fall as the two best friends just let themselves be vulnerable. They felt lost for so long, but now, they were found. 

After that tear fest, Martha and Veronica decided to move to Veronica’s room for some extra privacy. Her mom had questioned them on what was wrong and it took a lot of convincing on Veronica’s part to let her mom leave them alone as they dealt with everything. 

“So… How did you know I remembered?” Veronica asked and Martha shrugged, picking at the lint on Veronica’s blanket. 

“I don’t know. I was never fully sure, it was just this hunch I felt all the time. But at the same time, part of me just knew. Even though I know everyone at our school, it was like I couldn’t recognize anyone at all. They were the same faces, but they were completely different from the people I was used to. The only person who didn’t feel different to me was you. You just felt like the same old Veronica to me.” Veronica couldn’t help but smile at that, reaching over and placing her hand on Martha’s.

“When did you remember?” Veronica knew it was coming, she just didn’t know how to approach this. It wasn’t something she thought about much anymore. It was more fleeting than anything, something she was aware of, but didn’t care to give enough attention to. 

“It wasn’t really a moment of remembering. It was just… It was like I appeared out of nowhere. I went to sleep one night, feeling especially shitty and I woke up and was back in September first.” Veronica explained and Martha nodded slowly, trying to think about what Veronica said. 

“How does that work? Cause for me, I don’t even remember the moment where I started living through this life again. One day, I was just living my life, then I forgot all of it, came back here and then things just changed after the party.” Martha said and Veronica tilted her head as she tried to think about how to answer that question.

“You see, I’ve never really thought about that. I didn’t think there was a need to. All that mattered to me was fixing things and making sure nothing else bad happens in this timeline.” Veronica said and Martha nodded before a thought entered her mind, something she didn’t really consider until now. 

“Heather Chandler is alive.” Veronica paused for a second before giving Martha a confused look. “...Yes?” She said, not really understanding what her friend was getting at.

“No, Veronica, Heather Chandler is alive! Did you save her? Did you convince her not to commit suicide? But you’re not part of the Heathers, so how did you-” Veronica felt an immense amount of guilt enter her body as she listened to the excitement in Martha’s voice.

What she was saying made her sound like a hero, like someone who was able to save someone from a dark place, but she was anything but that. Veronica was just a lost soul, trying to gain the redemption she didn’t believe she would ever get. It was painful to see how much Martha was smiling at her, how Martha looked at her like she was an angel that graced the Earth. If anything, Veronica was an angel sent to Earth after getting kicked out of heaven for messing with the devils. 

“Martha…” She spoke up, voice soft as Martha stopped, turning to Veronica and seeing the pain in her eyes. Martha hated to say it, but it was a familiar sight. After the events of Westerberg, after everything that went down that ended in Jason Dean’s remains spread across the gym after exploding, Veronica always held that look in her eyes.

Martha and Heather tried their best to get rid of that expression, but no matter how hard they tried, it always stayed. Nothing they would do could spare Veronica of the pain she was feeling, and what hurt the most was that Martha didn’t even know why. She had vented everything she had to Veronica and while Veronica took care of her through the aftermath of those trying times, Veronica always ended up being so guarded about her emotions,

So she calmed down, focused her attention on Veronica and waited for the girl to continue. Wondering if this was the moment she’d finally get her answers and help her best friend finally find the peace she helped Martha find for herself. Wondering if she could finally hear the side of the story that only Veronica seemed to know.

“Martha… There’s something you need to know.” Her voice was shaky, tears on the verge of spilling down her eyes as Veronica’s hands shook. Martha frowned and wondered how bad all of it was really going to be. 

“It’s okay. You can take your time, I know it must be hard.” Except Martha didn’t know. She didn’t know the severity of everything Veronica’s been carrying with her for the past several months. No one would be able to fully understand. Only one person could understand and that person was both gone and has no recollection of those events ever even happening. Even if she had someone from her timeline with her right now, she still felt so alone with everything. 

“No, no, you don’t get it.” Martha frowned deeper as sobs started wracking through Veronica’s body, hands going up to grip her head as she felt her emotions starting to get out of control. “You don’t understand anything, it’s all just-” When Veronica started dry heaving did Martha move closer to hold Veronica, but the girl only pulled away.

“No, you shouldn’t-” Veronica felt herself start to choke up, trying to find the words that were so hard to say. “Martha, I did some really horrible things. I want to tell you the truth, but I don’t think I’ll be able to handle it if you look at me differently because of it.” Veronica said, trying very hard to keep it all in and finally say a full sentence without messing up.

“Veronica, whatever it is, I’m sure it will be-”

“Don’t say that. You can’t promise me those things.” Veronica said, already knowing the outcome of this situation. Things were different now, but the truth still mattered. Veronica wanted to make her relationship better with Martha, and now her Martha was actually here. Veronica loved her best friend more than anything in her life, but she couldn’t continue lying to her anymore. 

Martha almost died because of her actions. She can’t stand hearing Martha praise her or looking at her like she’s incredible when she’s just as bad as the old Heathers. Veronica said she couldn’t promise no more Heathers, but in that moment, she was promising Martha no more lies. 

“Just… Please, listen.” It was going to be hard, because Veronica realizes that if she were to come clean about everything, she could lose Martha. But did it really matter? Maybe Martha would be fine without her. If it wasn’t for her, Martha wouldn’t have felt the need to commit suicide. Besides, Martha already had her suspicions on JD and she thought the boy was horrible. What was she going to think of her when she found out that Veronica was just like him?

Martha cut Veronica out of her thoughts by nodding in reply, sitting straighter as she prepared herself for anything her best friend would tell her.

It was like a blur for Veronica. Things just spilled out of her mouth. She tried to start slow, but next thing she knew, she was spilling her entire life story to her best friend. She kept her head low, eyes down as she was too afraid to see Martha’s reaction, not wanting to see how the girl was looking at her now. By the end of it all, she felt breathless. The weight on her chest was still there, but saying everything out loud for the first time somehow lifted it, ever so slightly.

Tears were pouring down her eyes and there were moments where she had to stop talking just to catch her breath or because it was all too much for her. Reliving those moments by saying them out loud was one of the hardest things Veronica has ever had to do and she’s already done the worst that could be done. So she just cried. All the words she needed to be said were out there, the story was there hanging in the air as Martha processed while Veronica came to terms with it all.

Even though Veronica has been haunted by those moments for the longest time now, saying it all out loud made it all the more real. It wasn’t just a nightmare, it wasn’t a sick joke, it wasn’t all just a fever dream or a hallucination; everything that happened was real. 

Martha was quiet, and that alone scared Veronica. She looked up, trying her best to see through the tears. Part of her was okay with this sight, still not ready to face the reaction she’ll get, but she moves on. Wiping her eyes, Veronica didn’t know what she was expecting from the girl across her.

It was no surprise, really. The horror, the disbelief, the confusion. All reactions Veronica expected, but was not ready to see. It wasn’t like there were any moments that prepared Veronica for this type of situation. Up until earlier, she was determined to take the secret to her grave, but that wouldn’t help her in any way. Though she could feel Martha slipping away after finding out the truth, it was sort of comforting. Now that somebody besides her finally knew, it was like she was a little less alone. 

“I-I… None of that can be real, right?” She said, throat feeling dry as she tried to make sense of everything Veronica said. It all seemed absurd, like something she would see in a movie, but never real life. Then again, she was sent to a different timeline, so Martha doesn’t really have a solid look on what reality can and can’t be. 

But still, murder hidden in the face of suicide is a big deal. For it to happen to three people at her school by the only person she sees as a friend, her best friend nonetheless, to be the one to commit them… In retrospect, it was plausible, seeing as the timeline of the events in their first life was so odd. She had her suspicions, but she never expected them to be true…

What was anyone supposed to think? What was anyone supposed to do when confronted with this type of information? To be confessed to about murder, to be sitting in front of a person who’s committed murder or at least took part in it. It felt awful to think about, but there was no denying it was true. It hurt Martha deeply. 

She loved Ram, she once thought she loved him more than anything in this crazy world, but then he died because of the pressure of being gay in a world that looked down upon him for living. That was hard enough to deal with, her love of her life thinking that ending his life would be the best escape. He may have had his flaws, but Martha still saw him as that boy from kindergarten, he would always be that boy to her.

Yet he died and it was hard for her to accept at first. Even going as far as creating theories on how him being gay wasn’t real. But then time moved on, yet she continued to grieve. Then she was sent to another place, a place where Ram was alive. But he was gay, that was something Martha couldn’t change, so she continued to move on. But this… It was all so crazy. Martha didn’t know what to think.

Ram, Kurt, even Heather Chandler, all three of them were killed. Veronica almost got killed, everyone at Westerberg almost got killed.

“So all of that… Those… Visions that I saw? Those were real?” Martha asked, simply saying the first things that came to mind. Her brain was so full of questions that she couldn’t even decide what to ask first.

“I don’t know how you got those memories, but yes. Those were real, they were memories of mine. I’m sorry, Martha. I am so sorry.” Veronica continued to cry as Martha stared at the wall, not knowing what to do. What was she supposed to do? Cry? Scream? Call the police for something that didn’t happen here?

“You… You killed them. They weren’t… They were bad, but they didn’t…” It was hard to find the words. Hearing all of this, trying to make sense of it all, Martha had to admit to herself that looking at Veronica at that moment was very difficult.

“Martha…” At this point, Veronica didn’t even know what to say anymore. There was nothing she could do anymore. They died and they may be alive in this timeline, but it didn’t erase all the pain because no matter what she does, there was no reversing those events. 

“And you still hang out with him. You know this and you’re still friends with him now… How could you-” Martha cut herself off when she started to raise her voice, letting out a defeated sigh as she rubbed at her eyes, feeling the tears fall from her face as well.

This was supposed to be a happy day. Emotional, sure, but still happy. Veronica was here, she wasn’t alone in this crazy warped version of her world. Everyone was alive, her best friend was still her best friend, things should be good. How could she have ever expected this? 

“I know, I know, it’s just that he’s different here! He’s not the same JD from our place, he’s-”

“Veronica, he killed people!” Martha exclaimed and Veronica let her head fall into her hands, desperately wiping the tears from her eyes that wouldn’t stop coming. 

“This can’t be real… I don’t know what…” Martha became speechless as grief and hurt overwhelmed her, making it hard for her to breathe. 

“Martha…”

“I need some time. I just have to… I’m sorry, Veronica, I have to go.” Veronica never felt more defeated than how defeated she felt in that moment. She couldn’t bring herself to look when she heard Martha walk away, the sound of the door shutting the only thing she left.

“That went peachy.” Veronica’s hands shot up to grip her head, her whole body shaking as she continued to cry. Though she couldn’t see her, she could feel her presence close to her. She could feel her glare staring down at her. Everything that happened was because of Veronica. She lost her best friend and worst enemy in her first life, and now, it felt like she lost her best friend since diapers. 

“What are you gonna do now Veronica?” Veronica lifted her head, staring at those dull grey eyes of hers, those dead eyes that just made her whole mind go crazy whenever she thought of them. Veronica couldn’t do anything but try to scream her pain away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys have any questions about the story or even theories about future chapters and plot points, or you just feel like saying random shit to me, here's my tumblr.
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/married2myphone


	25. Carry Me To No Man's Land

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not proofread because I just wanted to get this chapter over with already cause I was so stuck on it for weeks.

She was both physically and emotionally exhausted, but Veronica had cried herself to sleep enough times in the past day. She couldn’t bring herself to go to school that day even though it was the last day of the week, but thankfully, her mom let her have the sick day off. Veronica was also hungry, but she couldn’t bring herself to get up and leave her room. It’s been hours since lunch and it was almost sunset, yet Veronica just couldn’t care about food enough to get some.

There have been many days like this in the past few months for Veronica, but things were starting to get good. She knows it’s silly, but part of her really believed that those days of hers were over. Things were still bad, sure, but they were finally getting better. But here she was again; spending the whole day in her room, doing nothing but crying, staring at the wall and sleeping.

Veronica tried calling Martha, but the only thing she ever heard from the other line was beeping that built up more disappointment and guilt inside her. If Veronica resented herself before, then she doesn’t know what she should feel now. 

“Isn’t it strange how I’m the one that’s dead, yet you smell more like death than me.” Veronica merely turned her back to Heather who was sitting by her window.

“How long did it take for you to think of that? Come on, Heather. You used to do so much better than that.” Veronica muttered as she stared at the scuffed markings on her door. Her parents had checked on her every now and again, but they’ve finally realized that all Veronica needed was to be alone.

“How’s it like knowing that Martha Dumptruck sees you as the murderer you are?” Heather asked and Veronica couldn’t help but fall silent at that. 

She wondered what Martha was doing at that moment? Was she just as hung up as she was about the situation? Was she determined to cut off all ties with Veronica? Just like Heather said, she was a murderer. Who in their right mind would hang out with someone they knew committed one of the worst crimes out there? Veronica wouldn’t blame Martha if she wanted nothing to do with her, but that didn’t mean that it wouldn’t hurt.

“That was a low blow, even for you.” Veronica groaned out as she shifted in her position, laying down on her back so she could stare at the ceiling. 

“You asked for better, and I merely provided.” Heather said with a shrug and Veronica exhaled out of her nose, unable to bring herself to fully laugh. 

“For a figment of my imagination, you know exactly how to make it hurt, huh?” Veronica asked, turning her head to face Heather, staring into those dead grey eyes of her and trying to see if there would be a time where she’d be able to fully look Heather in the eyes again. 

“Like you said, I’m a figment of your imagination. Be shocked if I didn’t make it hurt.” Veronica couldn’t see herself interacting with Heather like this ever again. It just felt too wrong to try and talk back to Heather after knowing what she’s done to her. Not like Veronica could ever speak to Heather because being around the red girl made her panic too much.

Despite all their differences, Veronica fondly looked back on her time as a Heather. She liked how she was able to branch out and step out of her comfort zone, how she gained a friend out of Mac and a weird, yet comforting acquaintanceship with Heather Duke. How Heather Chandler helped her become an entirely new Veronica even though all they did was bicker and fight. If only she hadn’t met JD. Veronica loved JD with all her heart, but she could say with confidence that if she had a chance to take it all back, she would take it in a heartbeat.

The sound of tapping on her window snapped Veronica out of her thoughts. She looked at the window seat to see that Heather was gone and sat there for a moment until she was snapped out of her trance when she saw a tiny rock hit her window. She forced herself to get out of bed and went over to the window and was shocked to see who was below. 

“There she is. Here I thought you fell in a well or something.” JD called out once he saw Veronica open the window and peak her head out. 

After everything that happened with Martha, Veronica doesn’t know if JD was someone she really wanted to see at the moment. But there was something comforting about the boy visiting her out of concern.

“What are you doing here?” Veronica called out, leaning against the window sill and looking down at JD who raised a slushy up to Veronica.

“You don’t usually miss school since you’re one of those goody-two-shoes, so I thought something might’ve been wrong. So I brought you the best home remedy for any problems life may bring.” JD said as he took a sip from his own slushy. 

“I don’t think you can consider that a home remedy since you bought it from Seven-Eleven.” Veronica replied with slight amusement, but JD simply shrugged at the comment.

“It was sitting in my fridge, which is at my home. I would say that it’s practically the same thing.” A small laugh managed to fall from Veronica’s lips at that. 

“Is that why you’re here, to give me a slushy?” Veronica asked.

“I was also thinking of going out on a ride. Care to join me?” JD asked and Veronica smiled sadly at him, shaking her head. 

“I think I’m just gonna stay in today. I’m not really up for going outside at the moment.” Veronica said .

“Come on, it’ll be worth your while, I promise. Besides, a little drive is a really good way to clear your head, and I know just the spot where we could hang out after.” JD explained in the most convincing tone he could muster, but Veronica remained hesitant.

“Maybe next time, JD. Today’s just not a good day.” Veronica explained as vaguely, but as honestly as she could. There were moments where she had to remind herself that this JD was different from the JD she was used to, but being cautious didn’t hurt anyone. In fact, being cautious made sure that no one would get hurt at all.

“I can see something is on your mind, and locking yourself inside your room with your own thoughts isn’t the best thing to do, and I speak from experience.” Veronica was able to muster a light laugh at the comment. 

“Besides, heavy thoughts are way too much for one person to carry. So why not let someone else carry it for you, especially when they’re already offering.” He had a way with words, that was for sure. It was hard to determine whether having JD in her life was good or bad for Veronica. On one hand, he was the only one who really understood (albeit not knowing everything), but on the other, JD brought up a lot of bad things that caused Veronica to become the way she was now.

But looking at him, staring into those eyes and taking in the charming smile that was directed at her, Veronica couldn’t help it. In the world that had so much fixing to do, it seemed like JD was the only other person that was okay with being broken and that brought some form of solace to Veronica. He reminds her that she’s not alone in the world of perfect porcelain and that there are other people with cracks underneath the surface. 

With a sigh, Veronica nodded. JD grinned and Veronica forced herself not to smile as well, but the laugh that escaped JD’s mouth caused her to break as the two laughed together for a few seconds.

“Alright, you got me.” Veronica admitted in spite of herself as she shook her head.

“Didn’t seem to take much work. I am told that I’m very convincing.” JD said jokingly and Veronica sent him a small smile. 

“Drive down the street. I’m gonna tell my parents I’m going for a walk and they won’t exactly believe me if they see you in front of our house with your bike.” Veronica said, making JD raise his eyebrow as he looked down at his motorcycle.

“What, not the proper time to meet the parents yet?” He teased making Veronica shake her head. 

“I’ll meet you down the street.” Veronica shut her window and watched as JD put away his slushies and drive away. 

Veronica stretched her arms out as she made her way over to her closet to change into something better. She was thankful that she had at least taken a shower that day. Sure, she was in the bathroom for a little over an hour, crying on the toilet before getting into the shower and crying there, but she was clean. 

After putting on some leggings, a t-shirt and a jacket, Veronica exited her room and made her way downstairs. She caught the attention of her parents with her footsteps and the married couple quickly lifted their heads from whatever they were doing to take a look at their daughter.

“Veronica!” Her mom said with a surprised look on her face.

“Good to see you out of your room, sweetie.” Her dad said which made Veronica give her parents a small smile.

“Yeah, I, uh… I guess I couldn’t just hole myself in my room forever.” Veronica explained and her parents nodded.

“Are you feeling any better, honey? You know you can talk to us if you’re ever going through anything that’s too much for you.” Her mom said with genuine worry in her eyes. 

Before, Veronica would consider her mom overbearing. Always worrying about every little thing, asking her questions, interrogating her every moment she could. It only increased when she started seeing JD and it annoyed Veronica greatly, thinking that her parents were just too over protective.

But now, Veronica couldn’t stop the warmth in her heart. Sometimes, it was easy that there were people in her life that cared. She had her friends, but they all had their fair share of static. When it came to her parents, it seemed like they were ready to set aside everything if it meant they could help her. Veronica can’t say how thankful she is for them.

“Honestly, no. Not really. But maybe a bit of fresh air would help me.” Though they remained worried, Veronica’s parents nodded their heads.

“Okay, honey. Just make sure you get home before dark.” Her dad said and Veronica nodded, going over to her parents and giving each of them a kiss on the cheek before saying goodbye and leaving the house.

She walked down in the direction of where she saw JD drive off, head tilted down as she watched the pavement beneath her while walking. Veronica barely even heard JD’s motorcycle ride up next to her until she heard him speak.

“What’s a woman like you doing out alone on a beautiful day like this?” Veronica let out a snort as she looked up and faced JD who had an amused smirk on his face. 

“Waiting for my Prince Charming to sweep me off my feet as we ride off into the sunset.” Veronica said in a wistful tone, heart on her chest as she looked off to the sun. JD played along.

“I may not be your Prince Charming, but I can be your black knight if you want. I even have a trust steed. I’m quite a catch.” JD said, extending his hand to Veronica who broke character as she laughed.

“What are you waiting for then.” Veronica said as she took the boy’s hand. He smiled as Veronica got onto the bike, wrapping her arms around his waist.

“If driving off into the sunset is what you want, then driving into the sunset is what you’ll get.” JD said as he started driving. 

Veronica closed her eyes and took in the feeling of the wind blowing against her face. Though it was just an excuse to sneak out of her house with JD, fresh air really did help Veronica calm down, even if it’s just a bit. 

JD looked over his shoulder for a second and stared at Veronica’s relaxed face, a huge difference from the stressed and tired expression she had when they were talking earlier. He looked back to the road and sped up. Veronica let out a yelp, not expecting more speed as she held on tighter to JD. Her heart felt lighter though, even managing to let a laugh out. 

They continued to drive for a while and when Veronica saw the sun start setting, making the blue sky have a hue of orange and yellows. She let out a sigh and laid her head onto JD’s shoulder, watching as Westerberg gets coated in the setting sun, making the dull and grey town somewhat beautiful. 

JD continued to follow the road before making a turn when they were near the edge of town. Buildings were replaced with trees and soon, they reached the lake where the old mill bridge stood. JD stopped his bike and placed his foot on the ground to make it easier for both of them to get off.

Veronica fell silent as she got off the bike, walking over to the bridge and placing a hand on the bars, leaning over the railings and looking at the sun and the trees. Despite the beauty that was provided by the sun, the mood felt somber and Veronica looked down to the water below her. It was shocking how such a beautiful place had such tragedy come before it.

She remembers it clear as day. The moment where Heather Duke broke the news to her about Martha attempting to kill herself on this very bridge. It didn’t happen in this world, but it’s still a haunting thought. Martha is her best friend, she should have been there. But she was just too caught up with her own teenage angst bullshit to see how much her best friend was hurting. But what hurt more was the fact that Veronica was also a reason as to why she was in pain. 

The girl shivered when she felt a familiar hand place itself on her shoulder. She looked at JD who reached into his trench coat, pulling out the slushies from earlier which made Veronica exhale out of her nose which was the closest thing she could get to laughing at the moment.

“It’s insanely unfair how big men’s pockets are.” Veronica said as she took the slushy from JD. Though she didn’t take a drink, merely looking down at it and swirling it around in her hand.

“It seems that even in fashion, you simply can’t escape the patriarchy. But if I ever make it big in the world, I’ll make sure to open a women’s clothing line with each piece having big pockets.” JD said as he took a sip from his slushy. 

“When that happens, make sure you dedicate every single piece you make to me.” Veronica said and JD let out a chuckle as he leaned his arms against the railing, looking around at the view before him. 

“So, what got into your head that made you want to skip a whole day of school, Ms. Poster Child.” Veronica let out a laugh at that as she ran a hand down her face at the comment. Maybe in her old life. She used to care so much about her gpa, what college she’d go to, whether it’d be ivy league and what course she’d take. But now, it just seemed like a silly dream because there was so much going on that she can’t even believe that she’s able to maintain her grades.

“It’s… complicated.” Veronica said with a sigh.

“What’s life without a little complications?” JD asked as he turned his head to Veronica who was looking down at the water.

“That just might be the biggest understatement I’ve ever heard in my life.” Veronica said as she raised her head and leaned her head against the support railing next to her. It was dirty, but then again the whole bridge was scuffed. Veronica could worry about her hair later. 

“And here I thought you just finally decided to come to the dark side. Your friend wasn’t at school either. Thought maybe you two were playing hooky and being the bad influences for once.” JD said as he finished his slushy, but kept the straw in his mouth as he chewed its edge.

Meanwhile, Veronica’s attention was caught by JD’s words.

“What do you mean?” She asked with furrowed eyebrows, turning her head to face JD who shrugged.

“You’re basically the kid people bring home to their parents to make themselves look good. You know, the kid parents compare you to all the time cause you get better grades, you’re respectful and-”

“No, no, not that.” Veronica cut in, not being able to feel flattered or offended by the comment. “I meant the other thing you said. Martha wasn’t at school today?” She asked.

“No, she wasn’t. I was supposed to ask her if she knew where you were, but I couldn’t find her anywhere. I assumed you two were having a day for yourselves since you two are probably the only students at Westerberg with a perfect attendance record, but apparently not.” JD explained and Veronica stared off at the sky with a confused expression on her face.

Though it did give her some form of comfort to know that Martha was just as hung up over everything as she was, it also made her greatly worried because Martha never skipped school. It wasn’t like she was sick because she was perfectly fine health-wise yesterday. Martha has a spotless record when it comes to attendance and all those things, not because she wants to have good grades, but merely because she thinks it’s only right. 

“I may have been wrong about my earlier assumption, but I’m assuming that whatever got you into a rut is related to Martha Dunnstock being gone at school today.” JD asked and Veronica looked down but nodded in reply.

“We, uh… Got into a fight.” Veronica said, and despite her vagueness, JD nodded his head in understanding.

“You two don’t seem like the type of friends to get into a fight so bad that both of you skip school.” JD commented and Veronica nodded with a sad smile.

“The biggest fight we’ve ever gotten in was Martha’s continuous insistence that we watch The Princess Bride every single movie night. Even then, the night ended with us watching it and laughing along as we ate popcorn.” Veronica recalled fondly.

“Yet this fight is different.” JD stated and Veronica nodded. 

“Everyone has their secrets, even someone like Martha. But Martha was brave enough to tell me hers yesterday. I thought it was only fair that I told mine because after what she told me, she was more than deserving to know. But of course, when I told her, things changed in an instant. And I don’t blame her. I saw it coming, I knew she was going to pull away, but… It just hurts.” Veronica admitted, closing her eyes as she forced herself not to cry anymore.

“How bad was this secret?” JD asked and Veronica let out a humorless chuckle.

“Probably the very definition of the worst case scenario.” Veronica said before letting out a tired and frustrated groan, burying her head in her hands before rubbing her eyes, already feeling a headache coming.

“I don’t think I’ll ever come back from this. I wouldn’t blame Martha if she decided that she never wants anything to do with me anymore. I don’t deserve her forgiveness.” Veronica said and JD thought to himself for a moment, deciding on what words he should say.

“That’s still to be determined.” JD said and Veronica looked up to him with a confused expression. 

“What do you mean?” Veronica asked.

“Well, at the end of the day, it’s Martha who gets to decide whether or not you’re deserving of her forgiveness. Besides, if there is a heaven on this God forsaken world, then out of everyone living on it; Martha would be the one worthy of going. With that said, I don’t think you should worry about her not forgiving you.” JD said and Veronica found herself mulling over his words.

He was right about Martha being the only one worthy of heaven though. That girl had a heart so big that it couldn’t compare to anyone else’s. Whether her heart was big enough to still have some space for her after everything Veronica told Martha still hung in the air. 

She looked down to the water and despite avoiding thinking about it for the longest time, Veronica let herself imagine Martha jumping off the day she did. How she felt, what it was like, how long she was in the water until someone found her. The fear of wondering if it was really the end or if someone would save her. Out of everyone, it should’ve been Veronica that saved her. 

But even after everything Veronica said to Martha, even after she abandoned her oldest friend for a bunch of girls who treated her like the dirt under their Suede Heels, she still came back and saved Veronica from falling into the depths of her mind after JD died. She truly believed that Martha deserved more than her, but the only thing Veronica could give Martha in return now was time and the ability to make a choice. 

Taking notice of her grim expression, JD pocketed his empty slushy cup and tapped Veronica on the shoulder. Not expecting the sudden touch, Veronica jumped and swiftly turned to JD. Her own slushy fell from her grasp due to the shock and the two watched as the cup fell down and landed in the water.

“I’m sure the fishes in the lake appreciated the extra plastic.” JD said to lift the mood and Veronica rolled her eyes, slapping JD’s shoulder lightly. 

“That was more your fault than mine.” Veronica said, looking down to the water and frowning as the thought of littering made her even more upset. 

“Come on, let’s get you back home. The carriage only lasts till twelve and we wouldn’t want to get stuck in a pumpkin in the middle of the road.” He continued to joke as he walked back to his motorcycle. Veronica watched the sun for a bit longer before letting out a sigh and following JD as they headed back. 

She just wishes that she could muster up the courage to face Martha once she goes back on Monday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 10k reads! Really glad to see that people like this fic and even though I took a mini hiatus, people still managed to get this book to 10k without any updates. Also, another thing that happened this week is ELLE MCLEMORE FUCKING NOTICED ME ON INSTAGRAM. Biggest flex in the world. Heather McNamara, Ms. Tiniest Lifeboat, Ms. Killer Instinct herself noticed me on Instagram and I couldn't be happier. So in celebration, I'm posting a new chapter! Also, as another celebration, all you Chansaw fans get ready because I know you've been waiting and next chapter will officially start off the Chansaw arc. How exciting yayyy. No promises on when I'm gonna post or even write that chapter tho, but it's happening. Anyway, just want to say thank you again for getting me to 10k reads!


	26. No One Gets Her Insecurity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said that this chapter is the start of the Chansaw arc and while there is no Chansaw content in this chapter, this is the start. This is just the intro, I can't just dive head first into the arc, I need to build it up first and add context. Hope you guys aren't too disappointed because there isn't and Chansaw interaction yet.

Soon enough, Monday came around and Veronica found herself alone at her locker. It wasn’t necessarily unusual for the girl, but before, she would have the comfort of knowing that Martha would come over to say hi whenever. Now, she wouldn’t even count on Martha looking in her general direction. 

They were both at the bottom of the social hierarchy of Westerberg, but they at least had each other. Things were different now though. While Veronica had JD to hang out with whenever, along with Heather Duke and maybe Heather McNamara, Martha was just alone. 

It hurt because she was supposed to be the one who would keep Martha from being alone, but she can’t do that now out of respect for the girl.

With a sigh, Veronica shut her locker and turned around, only to bump into someone. 

“Watch where you’re going, you- Oh…” Veronica stumbled, but steadied herself and met the eyes of the person she bumped into. 

That person happened to be none other than Heather Duke. She glanced around at the people behind her, all waiting for her to blow up in true Heathers fashion. Heather Chandler eyed her expectantly while Heather Mac watched in both curiosity and nervousness. 

Mac would consider herself on better terms with Veronica so she doesn’t want Heather Duke to go too hard on her. She knows the two are friends, but Heather is watching. Meanwhile, Heather Duke was having a hard time improvising what to say because she was too focused on the fast beating of her heart to come up with anything good.

“J-Just watch where you’re going next time or else.” Veronica really tried to, but she couldn’t help it. 

An involuntary snicker came out of Veronica’s mouth and she quickly slapped her hand over it, covering it up with a cough. Heather’s face scrunched up in both offense and embarrassment while Heather Mac turned around and took a deep breath in to stop herself from laughing as well. Usually Heather Mac was the worst liar and the worst at improvisation in their trio, but it wouldn’t help the situation if she laughed as well.

“Did you just laugh at me?” The playful tone in Heather’s voice was heavily covered up by offense, but anyone who knew the true dynamic between Veronica and Heather Duke would be able to pick it out with ease. That unfortunately included Heather Chandler, but she simply raised her eyebrow and kept any comments to herself.

“No, no, it was a cough, I swear.” Veronica said quickly, hand still on her mouth to hide the growing grin. Heather Duke was better at covering it up as she quickly scowled at Veronica. Though to the taller girl, it was as intimidating as a tiny chihuahua trying to pick a fight.

“You’re dead meat.” Heather said, lightly pushing Veronica’s shoulders, but the girl made a show of forcing herself back against the lockers. She turned and leaned her head against the lockers to hide the expression she could no longer hide.

“Move it, this dragged on long enough.” Heather Chandler said in an unamused tone and the smile that was growing on Heather McNamara’s face quickly grew serious while Heather Duke threw one last (playful) glare at Veronica before the three walked out. 

“Keep up encounters like that and you’ll be sitting with her next to the trash cans for a whole month.” Heather Chandler said through gritted teeth, her voice low so only the two girls could her. All of the playfulness in the air disappeared as the other two Heathers remembered how things were.

“Yes, Heather.” Heather Duke mumbled, tilting her head down as she stared at the ground while walking, discreetly glancing back to Veronica who got up with the help of Jason Dean.

“Chin up, Heather. Wouldn’t want people to see that you have more than one, would you?” Heather Chandler said, glancing at Heather Duke who shook her head.

“No, Heather.” She didn’t even notice that she had lifted her hand to pinch at her skin and feel the excess fat. Heather Mac sent her a supportive smile, but it went unnoticed as Heather Duke was too distracted by her own thoughts.

“That had to be the most pathetic performance I have ever seen, and I’ve seen two people absolutely fail at reenacting a scene from Hamlet for a project during my freshman year.” JD said as Veronica patted down the jeans she was wearing.

“You know they can’t act like we’re friends in public.” Veronica explained as she and JD started walking. JD was one of the few people who also knew about Veronica’s friendship with the two Heathers.

“If they were your true friends, they wouldn’t care about who knows.” JD said, giving Veronica a pointed look. This caused Veronica to tense up, gripping her books tighter and holding them close to her chest. 

“It’s not like that. They can’t do anything about it and I understand.” She didn’t want JD getting the wrong idea and doing something rash to the Heathers. The whole point of her continuing to go on is to prevent things like that from happening. 

“Why are they so afraid of Heather Chandler anyway?” JD asked and Veronica shrugged.

“Why are prisoners afraid of guards?” Veronica asked and JD answered in a split second.

“They have guns. Your point is?” Veronica didn’t know if she should laugh or run after that comment. 

“Well, yes, that. But they also have influence. There are probably so many prisoners in prison getting abused by cops, but we never hear about that because people look away and say nothing about it.” Veronica explained and JD hummed in thought.

“So you’re saying it’s about influence?” JD asked. 

“Basically. Heather Chandler is on top of the food chain with more money than she could ever spend. People listen to her and let her do whatever they want, because if they don’t, she could use her influence to ruin everyone.” Veronica said.

“And that includes thing one and thing two.” JD said and Veronica let out a sigh.

“Please don’t call my friends that.” Veronica said and JD shook his head as if he was mulling over it. 

The day continued on like any usual day, except Veronica found herself searching the halls everytime class ended in hopes of seeing Martha. She was good at blending in with crowds and Veronica didn’t even have to wonder why she was extra good at that today. 

Not even wanting to go to the cafeteria, Veronica made her way to the library. Her and Heather weren’t meeting there that day, but being alone in an isolated place was better than being alone in a crowded one.

Heather’s eyes stayed on the cafeteria doors, waiting to see Veronica walk through them so she could focus on what she was doing. It was like instinct now to try and find Veronica whenever she went to a different room. When mostly everyone who usually spent their lunches at the cafeteria were inside, Heather furrowed her eyebrows and scanned the room because she didn’t even see Veronica come in. 

It was nearly ten minutes into lunch and Veronica usually came in with everyone else along with Martha, but she didn’t see her at all. When her eyes landed on Martha Dunnstock sitting alone with her head down, playing with her food using her fork. Heather grew even more confused.

“Are you okay, Heather? Are you not gonna eat again?” Heather Mac asked Heather Duke with concern in her eyes. This snapped out of Duke from her trance as she turned to Mac.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. I already ate” She decided not to answer the second question. Heather Mac frowned at that, but decided not to bring it up. Instead, she focused on the last part and smiled at Heather, happy to hear that she at least ate something. Not listening to the brief conversation, Heather decided to butt in.

“Clear your schedules tomorrow night. There’s a Remington Party tomorrow night at eleven and we’re going.” Heather demanded in an uncaring tone.

“A party? But it’s Tuesday.” Heather Duke said with furrowed eyebrows.

“Shut up, Heather.” Heather retorted without missing a beat while Heather Duke ducked her head and fiddled with her fingers.

“Sorry, Heather.” She said, like it was second nature. Heather Mac frowned at that and placed her hand on Heather Duke’s knee and patted it to show her silent support before lifting her head to meet the eyes of her best friend.

“She has a point though. Aren’t parties usually held on Fridays or weekends?” She asked with genuine curiosity, making sure to put emphasis on that in fear of Heather misinterpreting her for questioning her.

“But this isn’t a regular party, this is a Remington Party. You’re lucky I managed to get you two invites as well and when you get an invite to a Remington Party, you do not simply say no.” Heather said in a pointed tone and the two girls glanced at each other before nodding in reply. 

Heather Chandler let out a satisfied hum and picked up her clipboard which held that day’s questions for Lunchtime Polls. 

“Come on, Heather. If you’re not going to eat like a regular human being in a cafeteria, then you might as well make yourself useful and help me with the yearbook. You know, the thing you’re supposed to be managing.” Heather Duke couldn’t bring herself to look up at Heather, desperately glancing around the cafeteria in search of Veronica, but her hope was crushed when she couldn’t find her. 

“Y-You know, Heather, I think I’ll help you. I haven’t talked to the preps in awhile so this is a good excuse to do so.” Mac stuttered, sending nervous and not at all subtle glances towards Heather Duke. 

Meanwhile, Heather Chandler raised her eyebrow in suspicion to Mac. She could clearly see what the girl was trying to do, but might as well drag it out and see what she could come up with.

“Nonsense, you covered for Heather for two whole weeks while she was gone, it’s only fair that she picks up her slack.” Heather Chandler said in a condescending tone, directing her words to the girl wearing green who wanted nothing more than to be swallowed up by the Earth. 

“Yeah, but it’s okay, I insist. Besides, Heather looks really sick, maybe she should head to the nurse. Right, Heather?” Mac said, turning to Heather Duke with a desperate look.

“U-Uh, yeah, right.” Heather stuttered, still not able to meet Heather’s eyes. 

“Oh, please, Heather is always sick.” Seeing as Heather Chandler kept questioning her, Mac couldn’t help but go to her final solution which was getting up and grabbing Heather’s hand so she could drag her off.

“Come on, Heather! The poll isn’t gonna answer itself!” Heather said, ignoring the protests of her best friend.

Watching as they walked off, Heather sighed. When Mac looked back to quickly check on her, Heather Duke gave her a thankful look which Mac replied to with a nod. Seeing as there was nothing left for Heather to do in the cafeteria, she got up and left. 

All of the comments Heather made throughout the day swirled in Heather’s head, repeating themselves as if she was hearing those words for the first time, making the feeling inside her even worse. She’s been dealing with those comments for years, but it just never gets easier. It makes Heather upset at herself that she still lets stuff like that affect her, but she couldn’t help it.

While she walked, she felt extra conscious about her physical appearance, feeling like every person she walked by could see all her flaws on display. She knew she shouldn’t have let her mom convince her to eat breakfast. But it was just clawing at her and every part of her body was screaming at her to intake something other than water, and she had stupidly given in. 

She had to raise her skirt a little higher because she didn’t want parts of her stomach hanging over the hem of it and she tried her best not to think about how her thighs would meet whenever she was walking, but it was always on the back of her mind. Heather’s words didn’t really help her situation at all, but she was right.

Heather was sick. Sick of herself, sick of feeling the way she is and just sick of everything. 

Unable to hold it in anymore, Heather ran to the nearest restroom and screamed at everyone inside to leave. The girls inside quickly scurried out and once she was alone, Heather shoved open a stall, fell to her knees and released everything she had eaten earlier that morning into the porcelain bowl. 

It wasn’t something she would ever get used to and the brief moment of relief she gets from losing all the calories she gained only brought a temporary lift to the never ending fall. Just as she was about to shove her fingers down her throat to release more, she felt her hand get pushed away.

She jumped and turned to whoever grabbed her, eyes widening when she saw the worried eyes of Veronica Sawyer. Heather was about to ask her what she was doing there, but the feeling of something coming up her throat caught her attention and she ducked her head back to the toilet and released more of her breakfast.

She knows that this isn’t the first time Veronica has seen her like this, but she couldn’t stop the tears springing to her eyes. Before, Veronica was just some girl she used for her advantage, but things were different now and she didn’t want Veronica to see her at her most vulnerable.

It was pathetic and she wouldn’t be able to take it if Veronica sent her a pitiful expression. It was the last thing she needed at that moment. But when she felt her hair get held back as a hand started rubbing her back, Heather felt warm and comforted, something she never truly felt before.

When she had nothing left to let go, Heather let out a groan and leaned back against the wall, her head falling back while Veronica sat against the stall wall across from her and the girls found themselves in a familiar predicament. 

“Here.” Veronica said as she dug through her bag. She took out a bottle of water and some napkins, handing them to Heather who muttered a thank you. She wiped her mouth before taking off the cap of the bottle and taking a drink. 

“How’d you even know I was in here?” Heather asked as she set the water next to her while handing the tissues back to Veronica. 

“The girls in the hall complaining about getting kicked out of the girl’s bathroom cause of a Heather kind of gave you away.” Veronica said, trying to keep the air light hearted, but Heather couldn’t bring herself to laugh.

“That was literally less than five minutes ago.” Heather said and Veronica shrugged. 

“I just came as soon as I heard.” Veronica answered which made Heather playfully roll her eyes.

“My hero.” She joked which caused a small chuckle to leave Veronica’s mouth. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Veronica asked and Heather let out a sigh.

“It’s not anything different.” Veronica nodded, deciding not to question any further. She didn’t want Heather to feel uncomfortable or forced to reveal anything she didn’t want to.

“Where were you, anyway? I was looking around the cafeteria, but you weren’t there.” Heather said, taking note of the tenseness in her body as the girl sent her a sheepish smile. 

“Did you miss me that much already?” She teased and Heather rolled her eyes once more, kicking Veronica’s leg which made the girl laugh. 

“You’re always joking around.” Heather said, but her words held no malice and had a playful tone, making Veronica smile at her.

“We saw each other a few hours ago, how do you miss me already? So clingy.” Veronica continued and Heather let out a groan, slumping back against the wall.

“You’re impossible.” She said, trying to sound annoyed, but the growing smile on her face said otherwise.

“Don’t worry, Heather, I missed you too.” Veronica said and Heather looked down, letting out a laugh as she ignored the warmth in her chest. She knows they’re just joking around, but a girl could imagine. 

“Do you feel any better?” Veronica asked Heather after a moment of silence passed between them. Heather nodded as she took the bottle of water and took a small sip of it.

“Yeah… It’s just- Ugh. I’ve dealt with Heather Chandler before. In fact, I’m forced to constantly deal with her. It’s not like her saying shit to me is a rare occasion, it’s almost a vital part of my day, but… I don’t know, today was just an especially bad day.” Heather said with a tired sigh. 

“I’m sorry-” Heather didn’t want to hear the rest of that sentence, so she cut in. 

“Don’t even. I’m pretty sure you’re not Heather, so don’t apologize for her.” Veronica’s eyes softened as she gave Heather an apologetic look, but Heather looked away. 

“I don’t know how to fix all of your problems, and if I did, I don’t think I’d be able to do it on my own. But could you tell me how I could make it easier for you?” Those were words that Heather never expected to hear, but it was something that made her want to cry. 

She didn’t know how to properly explain it, but it was as if she’d been drowning for years and only now did someone jump in the water and try to bring her back up. Of course, things were basically still the same, but even after just hearing that… Heather felt like things could actually get better.

But she looked down and thought about Veronica’s words for a moment. This wasn’t a question she asked herself. This was a question she never would’ve even considered, because if she had, she’d probably have an answer on hand. But she didn’t, but she knew she had to say something. She couldn’t ask Veronica to make the pain go away and make everything better, because like Veronica said, she couldn’t do that on her own. 

Then, a thought entered Heather’s mind. It wouldn’t be a long term thing, but it would make things a tiny bit easier and that was exactly what Veronica was offering. 

“Go to a Remington Party with me tomorrow.” She said without fully thinking about it. Veronica’s eyes widened in surprise, not exactly expecting that type of answer.

“A-A Remington Party? Aren’t those invites only?” Back in her first life, Veronica could recall Heather Chandler mentioning the infamous Remington Parties. She’s never been to one, but if Heather Chandler of all people talked highly about it, then it probably wasn’t that great. At least by Veronica’s standards.

“Yeah, but seriously, they’re the worst. Their only difference to Westerberg parties is that it’s filled with pretentious frat boys and bimbo sorority girls. Heather got us invites, but I really don’t want to go. I’m dreading it actually. I have no choice though and having someone there that I actually like might make the night more tolerable.” Heather explained and Veronica sighed.

“Alright. When is it and how am I gonna get in without an invite?” She asked.

“You can just say you’re with one of us, but don’t arrive at the same time as us. Go, like, more than an hour of the time you’re supposed to be there.” Heather explained with slight panic, but Veronica reached over and placed a hand on hers, instantly calming her down.

“Okay. When’s the party?” Veronica asked and Heather’s eyes darted around the room, avoiding Veronica’s as she gathered the courage to say it. 

“Tomorrow night.” She admitted. 

“What?” Veronica asked in shock.

“Look, I know it’s a lot to ask, but, please. Remington Parties are just so sleazy and Heather is…” Veronica scanned Heather’s features and took in the genuine discomfort and dread in her eyes. Heather was good at hiding her emotions, but anyone with good eyes could see that Heather gave everything away through her eyes. Not wanting to disappoint the girl and make her more upset, Veronica nodded.

“Alright. I’ll be there.” She said, squeezing Heather’s hand and Heather looked up at her, her body becoming less tense as she processed the words.

“You will?” She asked, having her doubts about Veronica’s words.

“Yes. If that’ll make you feel better, then I’ll go.” Veronica said with a smile and Heather looked into Veronica’s eyes, overwhelmed by the feeling in her chest that she got whenever she was near the girl.

Unable to help herself, Heather leaned forward and captured Veronica’s lips with hers, hands cupping the sides of her face while Veronica’s hand was on her waist, the other holding Heather’s neck as she kissed back. 

“Thank you.” Heather whispered once she pulled away. Veronica simply smiled at the girl and nodded.

“Anything to make it easier for you.” Veronica thought that Heather deserved at least that much.


End file.
